Bloodstained Smile
by Okinawa Angel
Summary: Emiko is a young woman of 25 found at a battleground. Brought back to the Akatsuki, her massive chakra reserves catch the attentions of various ninja. No matter what seems to happen to her or her friends, she is bound to have a smile : Hidan/OC
1. Bloody Trip

2nd Fan Fiction. Wish me luck, R/R, and check out my other stories.  
I do not own Naruto or any such affliated characters.

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**Chapter 1: Bloody Trip**

Tobi and Deidara were getting back from a mission that they had just completed. Deidara was cheerful due to the massive amount of explosions he got to cause and Tobi was happy because he is Tobi. Noticing how dark the sky was becoming, Tobi spoke up, "Deidara-sempai, can we stop there?" Deidara looks at the clearing in the emerald, green forest that Tobi points to.

"Sure I guess, un. Just make sure to get firewood, un." With that, Tobi happily dashed away to retrieve firewood and Deidara rummaged in his bag to locate some food. Just as Tobi returned with the firewood, a massive explosion caused all the animals in the forest to flee.

"Sempai, what was that?" Tobi asked. Deidara shrugged, but looked at where the explosion came from. The scope on his eye zoomed, but unable to see without getting closer, he motioned Tobi to the area and once they arrived at the site, they were both shocked.

The whole area was a bloody mess and what once looked like a village was a merely smoking, ramshackle ruin. In the middle of the area, was an injured girl. She looked around Deidara's age and was very pretty. Tobi threw caution to the wind and ran to the young girl. She was unconscious. Even though he shook his head, Deidara did rush to the area to examine the girl.

She had cuts, bruises, and blood all over her, but definitely had a pulse nonetheless. He brushed her long red hair off her face in order to properly clean her wounds and noticed something odd: she was smiling. Coughing, the girl sat up and stared at Deidara and Tobi.

"Um…hi. Who are you and while we are at it, who am I?"

"I'm Tobi and I'm a good boy! This here is Deidara-sempai. You look injured; can we clean your wounds?"

"Oh, I did not even notice my injuries. Sure I guess."

Deidara looked skeptical, "What do you mean you don't know you're name, un?"

"I do not know. I do not where I am, who I am, everything just feels completely blank. My cuts do not hurt, but my head stings a little."

"Then sit, un. We need to clean your wounds before they get infected."

"Wow Deidara-sempai, I'm impressed."

At this statement, Deidara turns his gaze at Tobi. "By what, un?"

"You are actually showing concerns for someone's wounds? You usually scoff when people tell you not to get too close to your bombs when detonating them."

Deidara felt gentle hands on his cheek. Turning back at the girl, she smiled. "Life is not something to throw away. We need to enjoy it, not run from death, and accept our situation with open arms."

"How philosophical little girl…" Immediately, the three of them turned and saw four thugs. One had a sword while the other three looked like mere genin. The sword wielding thug appeared to be the leader. "If you two don't mind, the girl is to come with us."

"No, un. Tobi, take her and hide." At this, Tobi grabs the girl and hides in a tree. Deidara gets ready to fight.

"So girly man, you are the one I'm fighting?"

"I DON'T LOOK LIKE A GIRL!!" With that, Deidara sent a huge clay bird at the thugs who immediately ran, but could not avoid the explosion.

As Tobi brought the girl back, Deidara looked at her, "We need to find you a name,un. It's hard talking to you without a proper name, un. Can you think of a name?"

"I'm not sure. I cannot even think of a name."

"Tobi knows! You should be named Emiko since you smile a lot!"

"How do you like that name then, un?"

"Emiko…I like it…Deidara-kun, you got hurt fighting those idiots. You should be bandaged."

"No need Emiko-chan, I'm alright. Do you know why those morons ran after you?"

"No clue…I have a feeling I should know but…" With that, a massive chakra pulse later and Emiko fainted. Luckily, Tobi managed to catch her. Deidara and Tobi's rings began to glow.

Deidara activated his, "Pain-sama, we found this girl in the middle of a destroyed village. She appears to possess a lot of chakra. Shall we bring her?"

The image of Pain nodded. "Yes, bring her indeed. I feel a powerful presence through here."

Deidara and Tobi brought Emiko to their campsite and prepared food and bandages for when she would finally wake up.


	2. Smiling, Un’s, and Emptiness

Wish me luck, R/R, and check out my other stories.  
I do not own Naruto or any such affliated characters.

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**Chapter 2: Smiling, Un's, and Emptiness**

When Emiko awoke, her head still throbbed, but not as badly as before. She looked around. A campsite was set up and a happy Tobi was watching over her. "Emiko-chan, are you alright? Are you hungry?"

Emiko smiled at Tobi, "I feel much better and just a tad bit hungry." She ate the rabbit that Tobi gave her and looked around. "Where's Deidara-kun?"

"He's scouting the area to make sure those idiots are dead. Still don't know why they where after you?"

Emiko smiled. When Tobi saw this, he felt warm and fuzzy on the inside. "Still rings no bells: the village, those thugs, or even my real name. So where are we going after this?"

"To the Akatsuki base, un. Are you feeling better Emiko-chan, un?"

Emiko looked happy seeing Deidara descend from the sky. "Yes, so much better Deidara-kun. What about your arm though? It is a little battered looking."

"I'll be fine, un. Don't worry about me, un." Tobi decided to test the resilience of Deidara's arm by continuously poking it with a stick. "Tobi, you retard. Is that necessary, un?"

"If I poke you and it hurts, chances are sempai, you should let Emiko-chan bandage your arm."

"Fine, un." Deidara extended out his arm while Emiko carefully wrapped his arm. He noted the amount of care she took with her work. "Emiko-chan, what happens if you try to remember before the village?"

"I have not tried yet, but I guess it is worth a shot after all." She smiled and closed her eyes.

The air around the air felt strangely calm: the wind had lessened and the animals seemed tense. Deidara felt relaxed and Tobi's normally hyper behavior was controlled. However, before too long, a wave of chakra erupted from her body and flooded the land around her. As fast as the chakra came, it left and Emiko awoke.

She smiled a sad, serious smile. "Nothing…"

"You did not see anything?"

"Just emptiness. It was everywhere and could not be stopped. It had tried to envelop me. It was close to…" Her smile did not waiver, however, "But I had something to live for so this force will not affect me."

"What do you live for now, un?"

"You two, my friends."

"Emiko-chan, can Tobi hug you?"

"Sure," she replied with a smile. As they embraced, two ninjas approached over the horizon. They were wearing the Akatsuki robes Emiko noticed. One had silvery hair and carried a scythe with three blades. His outfit was interesting as it was more revealing. His partner, however, was more conservative. Mostly wrapped up, she did not know what to make of this mystery man.

"Deidara-san, what the fuck is taking so long to get back to base?"

"This girl," Deidara pointed at Emiko, "We were told to escort her back to base. Pain-sama has plans for her."

Emiko looked at the two ninja and smiled. With a bow, she spoke, "Hello. I am Emiko."

Kakuzu and Hidan looked at each other with a look of bewilderment. Kakuzu regained his composure first, "Do you realize that by holding Deidara and Tobi up with your resting, you are preventing them from taking missions that would either achieve Akatsuki's goals or at least give us money?"

"They never said anything about that. They were trying to help me remember my past. They found me in a village that was torn apart."

Tobi immediately looked towards Hidan, "You did not do a ritual at a nearby village did you?"

"Why the fuck would I do that? No one worth dulling my scythe's blade for in the rat hole. I still don't understand about this Emiko girl. Why are we bringing her?"

"They said the leader asked for me, so I am going to base."

Kakuzu laughed, "What is so special about you child?"

"For your information, I am 25. And besides, if you want, I'll share my memories with you and you might understand." This was all spoken with a smile. Immediately, Emiko's eyes widened and Kakuzu's followed suit. After a second in real time, they appeared to return to normal. Kakuzu looked at her and was breathing hard like he had run a marathon.

"That is one killer genjutsu Emiko-chan…no wonder Pain-sama wants to see you." Hidan stared from Kakuzu to Emiko. It took a lot of something to make Kakuzu like that.

"Uh guys, one question. What's genjutsu?"


	3. Ignorance of the Ninja Way

Thank you for reading. I update fairly regularly. Don't forget to read my other stories.  
I do not own Naruto or any characters therein. Just my ideas or mine.

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**Chapter 3: Ignorance of the Ninja Way**

Hidan looked at her with shock, "Was that not just genjutsu you used? How the fuck do you not know what the hell you just did?"

"Everything is just blank. Just because I did something does not mean I am aware of it. Chance is it is habitual."

"Uh…what does habitual mean?"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes…sort of… "Hidan, you are an idiot. It means it's like a habit." Directs his attention to Emiko. "Nice technique by the way. If properly trained, you could be a valuable asset to the Akatsuki."

Deidara's emotions at this point where interesting. He seemed happy for her to possibly join, but sad that her innocence could be corrupted by the evil organization. "So Emiko-chan, you going to join, un?"

Emiko looked blank, but smiled at Deidara. "I see why not. If anything, it looks like you all need a smile around anyways."

Tobi gave Emiko another hug. "Yay! Emiko-chan is coming back with us."

Deidara kicked Tobi to stop him from suffocating her. "Idiot. Ready to leave, un?"

Emiko smiled, "Certainly Deidara-kun. Come on Tobi-kun. Are you two coming also? I apologize for not knowing your names."

Kakuzu did an unexpected bow. "I am Kakuzu, treasurer for the Akatsuki .The profanely idiotic dumbass over there is Hidan." At this, Hidan swings his scythe at Kakuzu who ducks.

"You have no fucking right to say that shit. You're the dumbass."

Tobi moved over to Emiko. "Hidan-san uses lots of bad words. It is bad for Tobi to hear and it is bad for you to hear also Emiko-chan." With that, Tobi covers Emiko's ears with his hands.

Emiko laughed. "Thanks, Tobi-kun, but the profanity bugs me not unless it is directed at me. Anyways, how far away is the base?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Very far if you insist on walking. I was just thinking of creating a clay bird to take us over, un. Emiko-chan, we have to cover your eyes as we travel just in case you really don't join the Akatsuki, un."

"Alrighty," Emiko smiled, "Is it alright if I take a nap while we head over there? I feel physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained."

Kakuzu nodded, "I see nothing wrong with that." _She doesn't look that affected by the recent events. She is about…no…she is even more cheerful than Tobi. That smile is genuine, but even genuine masterpieces can be replicated. _Kakuzu covers her eyes with a cloth and immediately Emiko immediately curls into a small ball to sleep.

Hidan looks at her. _She is happy or at least I thought she was until she mentioned she was tired. I can't read her very well. She is around my age physically. She has a great body now that I think about. Why the hell am I thinking about her body now?_ When this thought occurs, a slight blush appears on Hidan's face. Kakuzu notices and can't help but to point it out.

"What's the matter Hidan? Been long since you've been this close to a woman? Nervous that she is sleeping the closest to you?"

"No, why the fuck would I be concerned you little pansy? She means nothing to me." At this, Hidan feels a little internal pain. _What the…The only time I feel something like this is when Jashin-sama is trying to speak to me, but the feeling is not exact. This can't be love…_

Deidara snorts, "Hidan and Emiko-chan? Hell would freeze over before that would happen. Their personalities are too different anyways. She soft spoken, he's out spoken. She is kind, he is not. She is polite, Hidan is an ass." Deidara manages to dodge a swipe from Hidan's scythe. "Do that again and you can walk to the base."

"Stay away…" mutters a sleeping Emiko. The four Akatsuki members watch her. She turns in her sleep and is inches away from Hidan. "Noooo…get away…"

Deidara gently shakes Emiko. "Hey Emiko-chan, you ok, un? It's just a dream, un."

"Emiko-chan is nothing but a fucking shallow lie…" 'She' hissed.

The Akatsuki members raised their eyebrows, but Hidan mustered up the courage to speak first. "What are you talking about?"

"This girl is nothing. Without the seal, she is a mere pawn…"

Tobi came forth and placed a necklace on Emiko who immediately collapsed back into a state of sleep. "She was wearing this necklace earlier. We had to remove it as it was difficult treating the wound."

They glanced at the necklace. It was a simple, silver chain with one crucial feature: a blood red ruby.


	4. Innocent of Profanity

Thanks everyone for supporting my stories. R/R )  
I do not own Naruto or any such anime. I just own my ideas  
Sorry if I accidentally use Kazumi's name instead of Emiko. Kazumi is from another of my stories.

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**Chapter 4: Innocent of Profanity**

Hidan raised his eyebrow at the recent scene. "I didn't think she was capable of cussing, especially that particular word. That emotionless she emitted was the most disturbing, however."

Tobi nodded, "Tobi no like it when Emiko turned evil. If she turns evil while she sleep, does that mean she never really gets sleep?"

Deidara steered the clayf bird towards the lair. "We are about one hour away, un. We might as well wake Emiko-chan."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes and started to poke Emiko's forehead. She groaned and rolled over closer to Hidan. Hidan's face turn a shade of red and Kakuzu smirked. "Well, well. Looks like she does like you after all. Her evil side sounds a tad like you also."

Hidan gave Kakuzu a good look at his middle finger. "Fuck off." Turning to Emiko, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Wake up Emiko-chan."

Emiko stirred slowly and stared at Hidan. A blush came across her face when she realized how close to him she was sleeping. "Good day Hidan-san. Wait a moment, what happened to my blindfold?"

"Tobi thinks the Evil Emiko got it!" Tobi squealed.

Emiko raised her eyebrow, "Evil Emiko?"

Deidara pointed to her necklace. "You were all evil when you were a sleep, un. Saying that your name being Emiko is a 'fucking lie', un. She went away and you went back to normal after we replaced that necklace around you, un."

"I swore? No way?!"

Kakazu nodded and pointed, "We were shocked by the sheer amount of chakra that came from your body. It felt 'evil'. We of the Akatsuki are evil, but this chakra is in a class of its own. It made me shudder." Hidan gave him a weird look. "What the hell are you looking at? I feel fear occasionally too."

Emiko had a confused look upon her face. "I actually was scary? That is odd…" Even with a wondering look on her face, a smile was still on.

"Emiko-chan! We're here! Get ready to meet everyone. I'll introduce you. But we'll give you some basic information about the other members."

Emiko nodded with interest. Hidan began the information session. "One member you met will be Zetsu. Two personalities: one is smarter and more positive than the other. He is a cannibal, but if Pain-sama says to leave you be, he won't eat you."

Just as Emiko registered a look of semi-shock, Deidera decided to put his two cents in. "Another member is Itachi Uchiha, un. He is very silent, but smart. Don't mess with him: he killed his clan and we suspect that he left his little brother alive to give him false hope. Also, be careful if you look into his eyes, un. He has a tendency to use genjetsu, un." Upon seeing Emiko's confused face, he further explained, "Similar to hypnosis, but can still be devastating, un."

Kakuzu helped Emiko off the giant clay bird. "Kisame is Itachi's Akatsuki partner. In general he is polite if you are to him. This causes him and the dumb ass over there," at this, Hidan flips Kakuzu off to which Emiko laughs, "to get into conflict about manners. He has the look of a shark and his sword drains chakra."

"Tobi gets to tell Emiko-chan about Pain-sama and Konan-sama!" Giving Emiko a quick hug, he launches into an explanation. "Pain-sama is our leader. He has LOTS of piercings. Konan is his partner. She is mysterious, but likes origami. Ah, we're here."

Going through a tunnel, Emiko notices a mansion that radiated opulence. Noticing Emiko's eyes, Kakuzu chuckles, "Cost quite the pretty penny to build and I'm personally surprised that one of these idiots," his glance turned to Hidan who in turn raised his scythe, "haven't torn the house down. Or that Deidara hasn't tried expressing his art more often."

Deidara rolled his eye, "I can't help it if art is a bang, un. I'll show Emiko around while you guys inform Pain-sama we have arrived." The other members leave, mostly to get food from the kitchen along the way to Pain.

"What kind of art is interesting to you Deidara-kun?"

"The short existence and the wonderful explosions are what make art a bang, un! What about you Emiko-chan?"

"Short or long lasting means nothing to me. Simplicity is what I like. A simple flower in a vase, for example."

"Ah, I see, un. Anyways, here are the rooms. We don't have one set up for you yet, un. It should only take a day or so to get one settled. Anyway, this one is Itachi's. The one next to it is Kisame's and further down is Zetsu's. On the other side of the hall is my room, Tobi's, Hidan's, and Kakuzu's. If you travel towards the other end of the hallway are Konan's and Pain's rooms, un."

Emiko nodded and smiled. "Thanks Deidara-kun." She hugged him and he couldn't help but turn a little red until he noticed a rather bored Jashinist shaking his head.

"Well Blondie, I need to escort Emiko-chan to Pain-sama to be briefed on what exactly being in the Akatsuki is about."

"I dunno what this 'Blondie' business is about, but sure I guess, un. Later Emiko-chan." Deidara waves.

Emiko waves back then turns and smiles at Hidan. "So, where do I meet Pain-sama at Hidan-san?"

Hidan looked at her perplexed. "Why do you refer to him as 'Deidara-kun', but me as 'Hidan-san'?"

Emiko immediately bows. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm more used to Deidara and Tobi's presence than yours." Emiko felt Hidan's hand bring her chin level to his.

"Don't be so formal with me Emiko-chan." Hidan smiled which made Emiko smile even more. "Come with me."


	5. Forced Politeness

Thanks for everyone's support of my stories. Don't forget to read and R/R. :)  
I don't own Naruto. If I did, it would be an endless conundrum or confusion.  
Sorry if I accidentally use Kazumi's name instead of Emiko. Kazumi is the name of another character in my other story.

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**Chapter 5: Forced Politeness**

Emiko followed Hidan as he leads her towards the meeting room. "Emiko-chan, be careful. I'm not sure what Pain-sama's intentions are, but be wary nonetheless."

"Hidan-kun?" Emiko murmured just as they reached the door. "Thanks so much," she said as she hugged him and then turned to the door and went inside.

Hidan was glad she was inside as when he walked away; a blush could not help but start creeping up on his face. Kakuzu was walking by on the way to his room and could not help but notice Hidan's red face. "She has you whipped and tongue-tied already Hidan? Damn! She works fast!"

Hidan pulled out his scythe and ran after Kakuzu who was fleeing the area with a laugh on his face. "Come back here you cowardly bastard! Why the fuck are you running away you…" Hidan stopped talking as his face come into contact with the hard floor after tripping on one of Deidara's clay birds he left around. The fact it was Deidara's was soon cemented by a rather large BOOM!

Meanwhile

Emiko was finishing talking to the Pain and a mostly quiet Konan about how she would be teamed up with no member in particular as of yet, when they heard a massive explosion. Pain rolled his eyes, "That's most likely Deidara expressing his art…"

Following the explosion was a large, rather profane stream of curses. Pain shook his head, "And that is Hidan expressing his opinion about Deidara's art."

Emiko had a small smile. She turned to Pain. "Is there anything else we need to discuss Pain-sama?"

"No, but here are some Akatsuki robes for you to wear. The business with the ring will need to be discussed later. Have Hidan show you where your room is. Dismissed." Emiko took her leave and put on her robes.

With that taken care of, she looked around for Hidan. She did not have to work too hard as following her ears to the source of profanity was working. Sure enough, she found Hidan with his scythe chasing Kakuzu and Deidara as Tobi was laughing in the sidelines.

Tobi noticed her presence before the others did, "Emiko-chan! Come on and enjoy the free entertainment that Tobi found!"

Deidara scowled at being called 'free entertainment' and hit Tobi over the head. "Emiko-chan, so what did Pain-sama tell you, un?"

"Well, I am going to be a member, but not paired with anyone in particular as of yet. When Orochimaru's ring is retrieved, I can be officially initiated. Other than that, I was not told anything…"

"Well, at least you're a member Emiko-chan!" To everyone's surprise, it was not Tobi who exclaimed this, but Hidan. "You'll have so much fun with everyone. I can show you everything about my religion and the rituals…"

"Uh Hidan, you fucking idiot… Like she wants to see those bloody acts of idiocy," Kakuzu shook his head. "No offense Emiko-chan, but Hidan's religion is not the friendliest. If anything, it will corrupt your kind soul…"

"Kakuzu…when the he…heck are you concerned about people's souls? Besides, worshipping Jashin isn't that bad."

"Hidan-kun, I have no problem watching learning about your religion or the rituals. I might not convert or anything, but learning about anything is my goal seeing as my knowledge is limited. By the way, you can cuss. The profanity really does not bug me." Emiko smiled.

Just as Emiko's smile had calmed down Deidara, Tobi, Kakuzu, and Hidan, two figures walked in. Itachi and Kisame just walked in from their mission and looked tired. Nonetheless, they noticed Emiko right away and had different reactions. Kisame looked curious, but Itachi looked apathetic.

"Hello," Emiko chirped. Itachi looked at her. _She is way too damn cheerful…_ Kisame smiled at her. _Nice, finally someone who isn't a complete idiot around here…_

Deidara took it upon himself to introduce Emiko. "Emiko-chan, the Fish Man," at this, Kisame growls and almost hits Deidara, "is Kisame and the other guy is Itachi, un."

Emiko smiled again and bowed. Kisame shook her hand, while Itachi merely nodded his head. Tobi looked happy at the prospect of Emiko knowing everyone. "Let's play a game everyone so Emiko knows everyone. It's a good team building exercise anyway!" The members rolled their eyes, but once Pain and Konan came in and decided it was a good idea.

Tobi was delighted with the prospect of a game and even Emiko was excited and smiled. "Oh boy Emiko-chan! What game do you want to play?"

"Um…Tobi? I kind of do not have a memory and therefore I do not know of any games or how to play. Someone suggest a game and I will play." Emiko looked sad at her lack of knowledge about common things in life like games. Hidan whispered something in her ear to cheer her up and she smiled.

"I'll get the games we have. There is bound to be something in here," Kakuzu muttered. With that, he used his tentacles to reach into the game closet and pull some games out. The members looked at the assorted games that had been pulled out.

Kisame looked at a couple. "We have plenty of cards so we could play Poker, Texas Hold'Em, Go Fish, or Old Maid."

With a snicker, Deidara added, "Or Strip Poker, un."

Konan shot an evil glance to Deidara, but to everyone's surprise, Emiko responded, "If that is the game, prepare to lose. I have a feeling that I used to gamble…"

Pain saw the game time not working so far. "How about a different game? Like Catch-Phrase? It's very fun and easy to learn. How about it Emiko-chan?"

Emiko smiled, "Sure, sounds like loads of fun. By the way Deidara-kun, you will still lose."

Pain smiled. _Looks like Emiko will be an excellent addition to our team._


	6. Caught the Phrase

Thanks everyone for reading my stories! R/R :)  
I do not own Naruto or anything such. I only own my own ideas.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Caught the Phrase**

A/N: I am differentiating slightly on Catch Phrase's rules for story-telling purposes. Underlined words are the word used in the game.

Emiko smiled at the suggestion and agreed that Catch Phrase sounded fun. Itachi knew that a refresher of the rules was necessary as the Akatsuki members most likely would not remember. "Well Emiko-san, here are the rules. You must get everyone else to say the word that appears on the game. You can do anything as long as the people around you get the point. When the other people guess the word, you pass it to the next person. If you are still holding the game display when it beeps, you are out of the round, but can still guess. The person who is not out wins."

Some of the members were holding their heads at the explanation, but Emiko merely nodded and smiled, "Sounds simple enough. Let us begin." Emiko opened and turned on the game. "Ninja Edition. Interesting."

Emiko pushed the button and first word appeared. Hidan.** "**Very religious…"

Tobi exclaimed, "Hidan!" Emiko smiled and passed the game to Kakuzu.

Leaf Village. "Where Itachi is from…"

"Leaf Village," muttered Kisame. Kakuzu passed the game to him and Kisame looked at it. Kunai. "Ninja throwing knife…"

"Kunai," half the Akatsuki intoned. Kakuzu passed the game to Hidan who looked at it and rolled his eyes. Chakra. "Energy used for ninjetsu and ge…"

"Chakra," Itachi muttered and did not flinch when Hidan tossed him the game. Ring. As Itachi was about to say his hint, the game beeped loudly.

"Well Itachi, looks like you're out," laughed Pain. Itachi did not look like he cared and merely passed the game to Zetsu, who was next to him. Zetsu looked at the game. Senbon.

"Sharp needles… **That Haku guy used them…**"

Kakuzu answerd, "Senbon." Zetsu nodded and passed the game to Konan. She glanced at it thoughtfully. Orochimaru.

"Akatsuki traitor…"

"Orochimaru," Emiko answered to everyone's wonder. Her tone, however, was cold and for once, she did not smile. Konan nodded and passed the game on to Pain. He glanced at it. Sannin.

"Uh… Orochimaru, Tsunade…"

"Sannin," the rest of the Akatsuki with the exception of Emiko intoned. Pain passed it to Deidara who accepted it with glee once he saw his topic. Art.

"It's a b…"

"Art!" Tobi exclaimed. Deidara rolled his eyes and passed the game to Tobi. Tobi did not even get to look at his topic before the game beeped. "What? The game beeped at Tobi? But Tobi's a good boy!"

"Tobi, pass the game, you're out, un." At this, Tobi wailed and threw the game against the wall where it shattered. Kakuzu immediately rose and inspected the game.

"Damn it Tobi. I got that on sale! You better cough up some cash to fix this; I'm not buying another one! If Sasori-san were here, he might be able to fix it, but he's not."

Complains and mutterings of the word, cheapskate, were passed about. Emiko, however, got up and looked down at the fragmented game. "I think I can fix this. I do not know how, but it should not be so terribly complicated." When Emiko touched the game, the pieces automatically assembled themselves and the game beeped contentedly.

"Dang Emiko-chan! How did you do that,un?"

"Wow, Tobi wants to learn how to do that."

"Thanks to you Emiko-chan, we just saved some money."

Emiko smiled and looked at the game. "I am not sure how I did that. What matters is the continuation of our game. Sorry Tobi-kun, but you are out."

"It's ok Emiko-chan. Tobi was not a good boy." With that, Tobi sat out while Emiko read out the hints.

Ten minutes later, Emiko, Kakuzu, and Hidan were the only ones left in the game. Emiko was having a difficult time due to the fact that some topics presented to her, she had not heard of, or simply did not remember. Kakuzu now had the game and Hidan thought of a strategy to stall Kakuzu.

"Can you hurry up?" If you don't, I'll break that game and won't let Emiko fix it."

"God damn it Hidan! You think you can get your way all the time? Maybe next time, I won't fix your head back to your body you idiot. Honestly, go to h…" A loud beep interrupted Kakuzu. With a snort he sneered at Hidan. "Good strategy you had. Leave it where you and Emiko are the last ones."

Hidan began protesting loudly at Kakuzu and the rest of the members rolled their eyes. Tobi noted something that everyone else noticed, but was smart enough not to say something. "Hidan-san isn't cussing anymore. If you stay around him long enough Emiko-chan, maybe Hidan-san will be a good boy like Tobi!"

Emiko smiled and laughed. Hidan finally looked at his word and turned red upon mentally reading it. Love. _Damn it, it had to be that word. Oh shit, how am I going to give a hint and survive the rest of my life?_ "Um… something that ninjas should not allow to interfere with their lives." The Akatsuki members looked puzzled. "It's sort of an emotion, I guess. I don't know." Hidan was turning red.

"Aww… look at him. I bet it's love isn't it Hidan?" Kakuzu smirked evilly. At that, Hidan glared at him and passed it to Emiko. She looked at her word and smiled. She did not say anything, but put upon the countenance of contemplation. After a moment of thinking, the game beeped.

"Well Hidan-kun, I guess I lost. Well, I am a little tired. Pain-sama, may I retire to bed?"

As soon as Pain nodded, Emiko politely excused herself and went to her room. The rest of the room focused their intentions on Hidan as his eyes widened upon reading what Emiko's word was. Hidan held the game up and when everyone read the words, they were surprised.

Blood Village.


	7. Village Drenched in Blood

Thanks everyone for supporting me and my stories! Please R/R :)  
I do not own Naruto or any anime. My such wishes are futile as I only own my own ideas.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Village Drenched in Blood**

Itachi raised his eyebrow upon reading the game, "The Blood Village? That's pretty mysterious for that to be included in a game. After all, it is surmised to be almost legendary."

"Tobi's confused. How can it be legendary? Isn't just like the other villages?"

Zetsu rolled his eyes at the excited ninja's behavior, "There are rumors that this village doesn't even exist. **The stories about the Blood Village are quite thrilling**. **A village full of heartless shinobi that feared no one**. Always accomplished their missions, regardless of what it is. **They let nothing stand in their way be it a family or child.** Truly a fearsome village."

Kisame contemplated Zetsu's point. "Wouldn't it be something to have a Blood Village ninja in the Akatsuki? That is, if she really is one. Wasn't she found in a bloody, decimated battleground?"

"Yeah, un. But still, I doubt she is a Blood Village ninja, un. I've heard stories about them and they are opposite of how Emiko-chan acts. Cold, heartless, and care nothing for their partners, un. They are willing to kill of their entire village in fact to accomplish a goal, un. It is so unlike Emiko-chan, un."

"Remember when she didn't have her seal? She was cussing and seemed very distant. Also, the seal itself was a blood red ruby." Hidan recalled. "It's odd how different she is without her seal. Do you think it is binding her memories or something else?"

Pain stroked his chin at this. _Interesting. The chance of a Blood Ninja is too great to pass up. _"I want her carefully watched. After hearing what happed to the Village Drenched in Blood, I am rather cautious as to the ninja who destroyed the entire metropolis. I am unsure if it is Emiko-san, but I would rather be safe than sorry."

Kakuzu looked curious. "The Blood Village destroyed? They are one of the richest villages due to the sheer amount of missions and wealth they accumulate. They have some of the highest paid and most powerful shinobi at their disposal, but for a single ninja to wipe out that village? That ninja would be beyond the power of even possibly the Sannin, all three members' powers combined. "

Konan nodded at this. "Our information guesses at a single ninja, but when the circumstance was attempting to be investigated, our agents became a mere pool of blood at the hands of the said shinobi. So far, news is barely flowing about as to the destruction of the Blood Village. The other villages will most likely heighten security due to this."

Pain nodded. "We will have to plan for this. If Emiko-san is indeed the rouge Blood Ninja, we must be careful. Blood Ninja are known for an intense loyalty, but for one to betray and destroy the whole village, she is a dangerous, unpredictable sort."

"Tobi's tired. Can Tobi go to sleep?" Muttered the hyperactive Akatsuki member. "Emiko-chan got to go to sleep, and Tobi wants to go to sleep…"

Hidan nodded in agreement. "I need to perform my rituals anyways. Jashin likes to be pleased before his followers take to sleeping."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes in disdain. "Jashin is making me poor. You're constantly getting blood everywhere in your room and sometimes drag it into other rooms. The cleaning products to rid the rooms of blood are expensive! Then you always sharpen your scythe on walls! After which, you demand a sharpener!! All in the name of Jashin! Honestly, you better start fo…" Kakuzu was unable to finish his statement as a pillow collided with his face. He angrily removed the pillow to see a sleepy looking Emiko in pajamas.

"No offense Kakuzu-san, but it is 2:00 A.M. I am tired and I am sure everyone else is. I have trouble sleeping with light and noise." Emiko said in a near whisper. There existed a shadow of a smile was on her face and she looked much disorientated.

The other members laughed, but not so much as Hidan. "She sure knows how to shut your money-grubbing tr…" Hidan was unable to complete his sentence as Kakuzu flung Emiko's pillow into his head. Upon making sure the pillow was out of Kakuzu's reach, Hidan stood up and gave the pillow to Emiko. "Good night Emiko-chan. I need to do my rituals. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Hidan-kun," Emiko murmured. The other members watched her sleepy form watch Hidan. She turned to the rest of the Akatsuki members. "Can I return to sleep Pain-sama?"

"Just one question Emiko-san." Pain intoned as Emiko nodded and sat down next to Deidara. "What do you know about the Village Drenched in Blood?"

"That is an actual village's name? What is the world coming to for a village to be so… morbidly named?"

"I was wondering what the world was coming to when Hidan started beginning and ending sentences without a hint of profanity in them. You do many mysterious things Emiko-san and your past is equally mysterious."

"I know my past is mysterious, but what is so mysterious with Hidan-kun and me?" Emiko stammered. _Why do I feel uncomfortable talking about Hidan. Thinking about him makes me feel warm and fuzzy, but it still feels weird talking about him with other people._ "I do not know much about Hidan-kun or any profanity that he has. He does not cuss much around me."

"Most likely since he hasn't been around a woman that wasn't taken… **Or drunk…**" Zetzu replied in amusement. "Seeing Hidan getting tongue-tied is always amusing. **When he's angered, he neglects using his brain more than usual.**"

Emiko blushed at the implication that she was distracting Hidan and Pain laughed. "Well Emiko-san, it appears you know nothing about the Village Drenched in Blood." Pain glances at a clock, "Go to sleep everyone; do you realize what time it is?!"

Everyone groaned, but complied with the orders nonetheless.


	8. Acclimation

Thanks everyone for supporting my stories! Please R/R :)  
I do not own Naruto/Akatsuki/etc. I only own my own ideas.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Acclimation**

Over the next two weeks, every Akatsuki member was surprised at the transformation they had undergone. Hidan was actually more helpful than he had been ever before and his mouth was a lot more controlled. Kakuzu started loosening up on his greediness, although a look at Hidan's miscellaneous costs would instantly return him to his prior behavior. Tobi no longer vented his hyperactivity on every single member. Instead he focused the majority of it upon Emiko and the two of them had much fun. Kisame often enjoyed a simple day of fishing with one of the few people patient enough to fish with him. Zetsu was impressed with Emiko's innate gardening skills and commented frequently on it. Pain did not see her much, but was impressed by how easily she could sway others. _Her skill is almost like a genjutsu. Those diplomacy skills will be of much use,_ Pain thought. Konan was happy to have another female Akatsuki member around. There were times that even though you loved someone and were around them, you just had to talk to another girl. Deidara looked at Emiko and although he wished for more than friendship, he doubted his chances. Nonetheless, Emiko was kind to him and was interested in his art: something few people cared about. Even Itachi was affected by Emiko's charm. Slight things like the offering and acceptance of coffee as well as the occasional conversation would usually follow a greeting.

Emiko's training, however, was a mixed bag. Although she showed vast aptitude with genjutsu, her taijutsu was pitiful. As much as Kisame enjoyed Emiko's company, he could not help but comment. "Emiko-chan, I know that you don't have your memories, but the fact is, you suck at taijutsu. You can't even throw shuriken and kunai very fast or accurate. No offense, but without your genjutsu, you would fail as a ninja."

Emiko's ninjutsu training was not going well either. Konan was trying to teach her the basics, but Emiko's lost memory made it difficult for her to recall simple hand signs. Konan was trying hard to not say anything; she knew how hurt Emiko was when Kisame insulted her taijutsu skills. Emiko, however, was not one to take held-back pity. "Konan-san, I know my ninjetsu is pitiful. You can say so; it does not hurt my feelings." Emiko smiled as she said this, but this did ease Konan's guilt. _Emiko… exactly who were you back then… would you have asked for this?_

Konan and Emiko headed back to base as it was lunch time. The Akatsuki were dismayed to find out that Emiko was a horrible cook, but understood it as memory loss could play a part in cooking. In turn, Itachi found himself cooking as he trusted the cooking of few but himself. To everyone's surprise, Itachi was an excellent cook and although he did not respond much to compliments, he nodded at Emiko's acknowledgement of him as a supreme chef.

Eating at the table was tense today. Everyone knew that Pain had a particularly difficult assignment. It was only a matter of who got the assignment. Emiko's skills were lackluster so everyone doubted that she would get a mission anytime soon. However, Pain was not one to be predictable.

"The following mission composes the following ninja: Deidara, Tobi, and Emiko. Your mission is to steal the Scroll of Moonlight. It is being kept in the Tea Country by a man under the name of Jirocho Wasabi. He is not a ninja, but may hire ninjas from the other villagers. This includes the Leaf Village. His life and the lives of others around him are of little import. The mission is merely the scroll and if others die, so be it. Emiko-chan, do you have any objections to your first mission?"

The other members envied Emiko. None of them got to tell Pain about a problem they had with their missions, especially their first mission. Emiko smiled and bowed respectfully, "I have no problem. If death is necessary to accomplish this mission, it shall be dealt as we see fit. I have no complaints about this mission. After all, this is a chance to hone my ninja skills."

Pain smiled. Emiko would be quite the perilous ninja if her genjutsu was any more dangerous. "Deidara, create some transportation for the three of you. Traveling through the Fire Country is dangerous and although avoiding conflict is not necessary, it speeds up the mission. Also, no unnecessary displays of your 'art' please."

Deidara groaned, but Emiko laughed. "Pain-sama, are we to leave immediately?"

"Yes, head out." With those words, Tobi, Deidara, and Emiko left. Pain and Konan retreated to who knows where and the other Akatsuki members were apprehensive.

Itachi was the first to speak. "Did you notice Emiko-chan's demeanor? She is slowly adjusting to the way of thinking necessary for Akatsuki members. Her skills maybe… lacking, but she is apparently eager enough to improve them."

Kisame rolled his eyes. "Itachi-san, what is it with you and pointing out what other people lack? Besides, it's nice that Emiko finally goes on a mission. Maybe she'll be able to improve her taijutsu."

Kakuzu was working on accounting figures and was slightly irate. "She better not die damn it. We are saving 10 more money because of her and we are spending 15 less than normal. Also, her fixing the various machines around here does help. I have to hand it to her; being able to curb Hidan's destructive tendencies is quite useful on the pocketbook." Kakuzu immediately had to run left to avoid a swipe of Hidan's scythe.

"Shut your fucking mouth. She doesn't affect me at all!" Hidan protested. The other members knew that she affected not only Hidan, but every member. The effects she was having on Hidan were just more pronounced. Zetsu's halves were being quiet. Everyone knew why: a plant that Zetsu found for Emiko and gave her as a gift was dying. It was perfectly healthy orchid, but had started dying from the inside. Even Zetsu did not know what was wrong and now the plant was on the delicate balance of life and death.

"Emiko-chan won't be happy that Aina (the plant) is dying. **I remember when we gave her Aina. **She was so happy and smiled that smile of hers. **I don't want to see what she will do when comes back and Aina is dead…**"

Meanwhile

Naruto looked thrilled at the proclamation that he would have another mission. It was not an Operation-Retrieve-Sasuke mission like he hoped, but any mission at this point was better than no mission. Sai, Sakura, and Yamato were also gathered in Tsunade's office as she began explaining. "This is a very important S-Rank mission. Normally, I wouldn't consider anyone less than Anbu, but with all the missions at the moment, we have no choice."

Sakura was nervous. She had seen the paperwork involved with this mission and it was quite nerve wreaking how dangerous this mission was. Tsunade pulled out the documentation involving the mission and everyone became as intimidated as Sakura. Tsuande smiled at their reactions. "You see, this scroll that you have to protect isn't just in the hands of my friend Jirocho Wasabi, but our information tells us that the Akatsuki are interested in the Scroll of Moonlight. You are to protect the scroll and prevent excess casualties. There is no definite time limit. Please head out immediately."

When the ninja left, Tsunade wasted no time in drinking the sake that Jirocho had procured for her to secure the mission. Shizune shook her head, but Tsunade laughed. "I would've sent them out without the sake Shizune."

"That's not I'm worried about Tsunade-sama. What about the Akatsuki?"

"They'll be noticed long before they get to the Tea Country. They have to pass through Fire Country to reach there anyway. Besides, our information says that it is just the explosive idiot and the hyperactive idiot that's on the mission. Nothing to worry about." Tsunade indulged in more sake and Shizune shook her head. _Idiots or not, they didn't get into the Akatsuki for nothing._


	9. Interception in Tea Country

Hi everyone! Thanks for your support for my stories. Please R/R :)  
I do not own Naruto or any series. I just own my ideas and misconceptions.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Interception in Tea Country**

After talking for several hours straight without stopping, Tobi was finally asleep. Deidara sighed in relief. "Finally, un. Dang Emiko-chan, I didn't think Tobi would ever shut shut up."

Emiko smiled. By the map they had, she could tell they were getting close. "Tobi's just being Tobi. Anyway, we are almost there. We should stay in a hotel and then we could steal the Scroll of Moonlight. If anything, you and Tobi will do a good job. This is a learning experience for me."

Deidara glanced at Emiko. "You don't give yourself enough credit. That genjutsu of yours that you used on Kakuzu before is killer, un. You could most likely use it on that Jirocho guy and we can get it without conflict. The sooner we head back the better, un."

Emiko smiled. "I have a new technique to try, but if all goes well, I will not have to resort to it."

Deidara spotted a nearby town, but instead landed in a clearing nearby. "We shouldn't stay in a town this close to where our mission is, un. Too risky." Emiko nodded and cheerfully got off and committed to the task of awakening Tobi.

* * *

Zetsu watched Aina continue to wither. None of her leaves were green anymore and nothing Zetsu did could reverse the process. He sighed and looked at the window. _**Nightfall…**__ Time to find something…__** Someone**__… To eat…_ With that, Zetsu vanished into the night to find an unlucky victim.

* * *

The next day…

Emiko woke herself in a death hug curtsey Tobi. No matter how much she moved, she could not loosen Tobi's hold around her. She sighed, but was instantly relieved when Deidara began to stir. "Hey Deidara-kun, wake up. Get Tobi off of me please."

Deidara opened his eyes and upon seeing the Emiko-Tobi wrap, burst out laughing. "That's so cute, un. If it was just me and him, he would have done that to me for sure, un."

Emiko rolled her eyes, "Just get him off. I have business to take care of."

"Come on Emiko-chan, un. It's really early in the morning. We'll be getting there in good time, un."

"Deidara-kun… that is not the manner of business I am talking about…" Emiko looked at a blank faced Deidara. "Deidara, I need to use the bathroom already!"

"Oh shit, why didn't you say so, un." At this, Emiko shook her head. "Oi! Tobi, you retard, get up, un." With a kick, Tobi woke up, but gripped Emiko even tighter.

"Waaaaaaaahhhhh! Senpai, why did you have to kick Tobi? Tobi's a good boy!" Deidara was rolling on the ground laughing at the spectacle.

There was a dangerous wave of chakra flowing from Emiko's body. "Tobi-kun, if you want to remain a living boy, please release me so I can use the bathroom…" Emiko's eyes flashed scarily and at this, Tobi immediately released her.

After the release, Emiko immediately smiled, "I will be back in a moment. Deidara-kun, if you would please start breakfast?" With that, Emiko headed towards the woods. Tobi turned to Deidara.

"Deidara-senpai, Emiko-chan is scary when she is mad."

Deidara nodded, "I hope that we encounter no enemies on the way to get the scroll. Otherwise, Emiko may face combat and have to actually fight someone to the death."

* * *

Team Seven was not having a good morning start. Sai had woken Naruto up with a plethora of taunts about a certain part of Naruto's body and was not taking the hint from Yamato about being quiet in the morning. Sakura was tired of the insults against her team member and introduced Sai to her fist. As satisfying as punching Sai was, Sakura felt something wrong. She walked around and sure enough, walking through the forest was a young woman. _Is she a ninja? She doesn't have a headband, but still… that dress is black with red clouds… like an Akatsuki, but she has no robe, ring, or weird hat…_ Sakura immediately ran to back to the team and grabbed Yamato's arm.

"There's someone wondering around here. I don't know if she's a ninja, but the outfit she's wearing… It is similar to that of the Akatsuki."

At the mention of the Akatsuki, Team Seven headed towards the area that Sakura indicated.

* * *

As refreshed as Emiko felt, getting lost in the forest was not part of her plan. She kept walking around and around. She could tell that there was no genjutsu, but she still was uneasy about the situation. _This is embarrassing… Deidara will tell everyone that I got lost and not him or Tobi. Kisame's going to lose his bet now…_

A twig snapped and out of reaction, Emiko tossed a kunai towards the noise. However, she was way off target, but managed to hit something. Sai fell and Emiko saw the kunai piercing his leg. Emiko froze upon seeing Sai. "Who are you and why are you following me?"

At this, Sakura ran to Sai to heal his wound, but Naruto and Yamato appeared in front of Emiko. Emiko looked at the blonde who began to speak. "Are you in the Akatsuki? If you are, we have to fight you."

Emiko blinked. _What should I say? I am not officially initiated yet and I do not yet have the standard equipment that Akatsuki members have._ Naruto took Emiko's silence as acknowledgement and charged her. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," he shouted and to Emiko's surprise, four more clones appeared and surrounded her. They immediately ran after her, but everything was to no avail.

Emiko was able to quickly dodge every punch and kick, but she did not retaliate. Instead, she was trying to avoid injury. _I wish I was better at ninjutsu or taijutsu. This battle is difficult._

Sai and Yamato looked at Emiko with shock. Immediately, Yamato pulled out his Bingo Book and was surprised when he saw a particular entry. "Naruto… It's a good idea to get away from that ninja…"

Naruto was not happy. Emiko had not been affected by his attacks and although he had plenty of stamina to spare, wasting energy was never something he desired. "Why? She isn't even fighting back." At this statement, Emiko makes a hand sign and after which, she touches all of Naruto's clones with a single finger and they disappeared.

Sai grabs Naruto before he fights her back and Sai shoves Naruto's face in the book. "Look idiot, she is in the Bingo Book… That is a high bounty. It says she is an S Class missing nin from the Blood Village. In fact, she became missing nin by destroying her whole village. Her name is… Princess Kimiko Fushigi of the Blood Village ruling family. If she is an Akatsuki member, this is not good…"

Emiko looked at Sai with wonder. "Kimiko Fushigi is my real name? No offense to whoever named me, but I prefer my current name, Emiko. The fact I am a princess is startling… I guess that is why Pain-sama asked me about the Blood Village even though I cannot remember…"

Sakura looked at Emiko with an astounded look. "You don't remember? If you want, I'm a medic nin and I will be able to examine your brain for damage to see if you have amnesia."

Emiko touched her necklace with concern. _I want to know who I am, but what if it releases that 'Evil Emiko' that Tobi was talking about? This morning, it felt like someone was controlling me when I snapped at Tobi and I do not want to hurt anymore people if this other self of mine killed their own village. _"Thanks, but no thanks. I am perfectly happy as I am."

"Happy as an Akatsuki follower?" Naruto snarled as he charged for her. Before he even got close, a clay bird charged into him and exploded. Naruto had a minor injury, but startled enough to get back to his team and get into an offensive position. Immediately, Deidara and Tobi came into view riding on a giant clay bird.

"There you are Emiko-chan, un. We were wondering what happened to you. We need to accomplish our mission. Grab Tobi's hands, un." With that, Deidara directly his clay bird low towards Emiko. Emiko smiled, reached her hands up, and Tobi grabbed them. Tobi pulled her on top of the bird and she saw the Leaf Ninja watching them in confusion.

* * *

Aina was not only having her leaves turn yellow, but something that looked like blood was leaking from the plant like a wound. Zetsu was unsure of what to do and when he attempted to clean the plant of the 'blood', a barrier appeared around it. Zetsu had an idea and retrieved a confused Kisame.

"Uh… So I'm in front of Aina and you want me to drain it of chakra… Why?… It's a plant."

"There's some weird 'blood' on it. **Also, there is a barrier that stops us from cleaning it.** We should fix this before Emiko-chan comes home. **Or there could be hell to pay from either her or her 'boyfriend'.**"

Kisame laughed. "Hidan won't be happy to know that you are referring to him as that. Yeah, I'll try to drain the barrier." Kisame lifted Samehada and pointed it towards the plant, but somehow, the barrier resisted the Samehada and simply propelled it backwords.

Zetsu observed this and wrote it down. "Odd. **We will have to monitor Aina to learn about this phenomenon.**"


	10. Emiko’s Old & New Genjutsu

Thanks everyone for your awesome support! Please R/R and check out my other stories as well! :)  
I do not own Naruto: that is a scary thought...

* * *

**Chapter 10: Emiko's Old & New Genjutsu**

Deidara, Tobi, and Emiko had arrived at the house of Jirocho Wasabi. Before they went inside, they ensured that Emiko was still up to the mission and when she nodded, they entered.

There were some guards, but not a whole lot. Deidara and Tobi nodded at Emiko and she entered the hallway to look for the scroll. Tobi glanced at Deidara.

"Deidara-senpai, was it a good idea to let Emiko-chan look for the scroll all by herself? I know her genjutsu's good, but it is her first mission with this memory set."

"She'll be fine, un. If something happens, she just gives the signal and we'll burst in, un."

* * *

Emiko encountered no one when she got to Jirocho's room. Mostly empty, but she walked towards a drawer and when she opened it, she was greeting by a variety of scrolls. The one with the lock around it proved to be the Scroll of Moonlight. Just as she was about to head out, someone entered the room. "What makes you think that you can just take the scroll eh, Akatsuki?"

Emiko whipped around and saw the man, Jirocho. She glanced at him; he did not look like a ninja at all, but she could not afford to underestimate him or waste her chakra. _I have to use this technique._ Emiko's pointing fingers went to her temples and her eyes locked onto Jirocho's. "Secret Art: Pleasure-Pain Illusion." Both of their eyes went big and Jirocho entered the genjutsu world.

* * *

The Leaf Ninja finally arrived at Jirocho's house only to be created by a shower of clay birds. Naruto cursed, "Damn, they beat us here. We have to fight." He started making shadow clones, Sai pulled his sword out, and Sakura put on her gloves."

Tobi jumped down onto the ground. "Sorry, but we have to occupy you until Emiko-chan finishes her mission."

Deidara swooped down on the ninja but he became less focused on flying when the following words were spoken. "Do you even know who Emiko is because we do."

Tobi and Deidara stopped fighting and looked at Yamato who had spoken. "Her real name is Princess Kimiko Fushigi. She is part of the Blood Village's royal family. She is an S ranked missing nin because she destroyed the whole village in cold blood. How long do you think it will be before she turns on the Akatsuki like she turned on her family?"

Tobi looked at Deidara. "So, Kimiko is the evil Emiko I guess. Well, as long as she keeps her seal on, she would never hurt anyone of us. Especially Tobi because he's a good boy!"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Kimiko, Emiko. It doesn't matter, un. Either way, she is our teammate and friend and we trust her, un." With that, Deidara launched more clay birds at the Leaf shinobi.

* * *

Jirocho had fallen unconscious and although Emiko had the scroll, she felt faint. _That took a bit of chakra, but I guess that is predictable after you modify and strengthen a genjutsu._ She opened the door to see a fight scene erupting around her. When Naruto saw her, he charged immediately. Tobi and Deidara were too occupied to defend her. As Naruto got close, she put her pointing fingers on Naruto's temples. He froze in place and she muttered the words, "Secret Art: Pain-Pleasure Illusion." With that, Naruto's eyes diluted. Although the genjutsu lasted only for a second in real life, soon Naruto crumpled on the ground in response to the genjutsu. Yamato looked at her with wonder at what sort of genjutsu could be that devastating.

Emiko smiled and turned towards her fellow members. "I have the scroll guys. Let us take our leave." Deidara nodded and they jumped on his giant clay bird back to base.

Sakura ran to Naruto and examined him with her chakra. "His body is in shock. That was a powerful mental attack that she launched at him. I cannot calm his body down; it's too unstable, his mind is. We need to rush him to Tsunade."

Sai nodded, "We need to check on Jirocho." The other ninja nodded and headed towards the house. Yamato was carrying Naruto and when they arrived at the scene, they saw a very distraught looking man. Jirocho was shaking horribly and when the ninja entered the room, he backed into the corner, eyes full of fear. Sakura tried to walk closer to him, but he squeaked and tried to go further back into the corner although he was unable to.

"Sakura, we need to get Tsunade to come. Emiko used some vastly powerful genjutsu on Nrauto and Jirocho that none of us can dispel. Summon a slug to reach her."

Sakura nodded and started making the hand signs.

* * *

Hidan was restless. _How fucking long was this mission supposed to take? Just grab a stupid scroll and come back. That should be easy, but I guess Emiko is new… Emiko… Damn it I miss you…_ Hidan walked into the room that Aina was in and was shocked at what he witnessed. The delicate orchid that Zetsu had bought for Emiko as a gift was covered in something that looked like blood. He rushed forward with a cloth and began cleaning it.

"How did you get so close to Aina? **Without its barrier repelling you?**" Zetsu asked as he emerged from the ground.

Hidan shrugged. "Damned if I know. What matters is to clean this up before Emiko-chan comes home. I don't want her to think we neglected anything of hers."

Zetsu nodded, but was unable to approach the plant. "Interesting. **The plant is only letting you of all the members to get close to it.** I wonder if that is how Emiko feels like… **Or is it because you have feelings for Emiko?**"

At this, Hidan glared at Zetsu, but said nothing. _Damn. This blood stuff is weird. Chakra is coming from it, but it feels… evil… Does this mean that Emiko is evil or that she bleeding herself of all evilness?_


	11. Kimiko Killed

Hello everybody!  
This is as of 10/05/2008 8:43 A.M. the longest chapter I've written...so far. I hope you like it! :)  
I do not own Naruto. That is a lot of writing that I am unable to do.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Kimiko Killed**

Emiko looked slightly confused as they started flying back towards the base. She had the scroll in her hands, but felt like something was missing. "Deidara-kun, I am just curious. Do you have a Bingo Book with you by chance?"

Deidara looked startled by her question. "Why would you want something like that?"

"Well, those Leaf Ninja mentioned me being in the book, but under a different name. I am a little confused about my past and I was hoping the book could answer a couple of questions."

"Sure, un." For a moment, Deidara rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a book. "Here you go Emiko-chan, un."

"Thanks Deidara-kun." They were both glad that Tobi decided he was tired and was sleeping on the giant bird contentedly. Emiko looked through the book and found what she was looking for. "Deidara-kun, look."

Name: Princess Kimiko Fushigi aka Blood Princess  
Ninja Rank: S Ranked Missing Nin, former jounin  
Age: 25  
Abilities: Genjutsu type, large chakra store, excessive blood thirsty tendencies  
Weakness: Ninjutsu, taijutsu, tends to cause excessive damage on missions  
Atrocity: Complete and utter destruction of the Village Drenched in Blood

They also noticed a photograph of Emiko. She looked almost exactly how she did now, but with a few crucial differences. Kimiko's eyes were cold: hard and emotionless and she had no smile. The photograph was not the only one, but when Emiko saw it, she felt cold. It was a photo of her with a sword licking the blood off of it. She sagged when she finished reading the book. Deidara watched her with concern.

"Deidara-kun, I do not want to remember anymore. If I was such a horrible person and I have a chance to change it now as Emiko, I want to change."

Deidara nodded and looked at her. _I can't see her on a battlefield. The photo about her licking the blood off of a sword is way similar to how Hidan fights, but I can't tell her that when she likes the guy… Why does she have to like him out of any of the Akatsuki members? Even the Uchiha would be a better choice… Barely._

Tobi picked this time to wake up and immediately picked Emiko as the target of his hug. "Emiko-chan, you look like you need a hug, so Tobi will hug you!"

Emiko smiled and hugged Tobi back. "Thanks Tobi-kun. Deidara-kun, I think I will take a short nap."

Deidara nodded and Emiko closed her eyes. When he was sure that she was absolutely asleep, Tobi poked Deidara. "Deidara-senpai, why is Emiko so sad?"

"She read in the Bingo book who she was, un. She was a blood thirsty ninja who killed everything, un. Here Tobi, read it." Deidara handed Tobi the book and Tobi did not seem happy when he finished reading Kimiko's entry.

"Tobi doesn't like Kimiko. Tobi likes Emiko because Emiko smiles which makes Tobi smile."

Deidara nodded, "Emiko doesn't like Kimiko either, un. She doesn't want to remember, so we can't do anything that might make her remember, un."

Tobi looked thoughtful for a moment, "So can I tell Hidan-san to stop licking the blood of weapons after a sacrifice or after his rituals? I bet he'll stop if we tell him why."

"No you idiot, un. That might make her unhappy if she finds that out about Hidan. I hate that bastard, but if being with him makes Emiko-chan happy, I will deal with it."

They both stopped talking when Emiko was moving around in her sleep. They tensed up hoping that Kimiko would not make another appearance. They were surprised when they heard her speak in her sleep. "Hidan-kun, that is very sweet of you. How did you know that I liked scythes? Of course I will help you find a sacrifice." After that, she turned around to continue her dream and Tobi and Deidara looked at each other.

"Deidara-senpai, is it safe for Emiko-chan to date Hidan if she decides to really help him look for sacrifices for his rituals?"

"I dunno, un, but don't mention this to Emiko-chan. We will take a break in about an hour to get some food and rest up, un."

* * *

Tsunade could not believe what she had seen. Whoever cast the two genjutsu had to be extremely powerful and she grew worried when Yamato showed her the entry in the Bingo Book.

"This is not good. For the 'Blood Princess' to be in the Akatsuki is not good." She managed to calm Jirocho into normalcy and he was calm until he realized the scroll was missing.

"This is not good Tsunade-sama. For the scroll to be gone could mean utter doom. That scroll contains…"

"It's ok Jirocho-san. We will get it back!" Naruto assured him. Tsunade smiled. _That knucklehead is so positive after that genjutsu. Damn I remember his reaction when I managed to finally release it._

* * *

Flashback

_Tsunade had arrived as fast as possible. When she saw Naruto's crumpled form, she was afraid he had died. She placed her palms on him and realizing he was alive, she tried to release the genjutsu that had ensnared him. However, upon trying to release it, she got tugged into the genjutsu._

_

* * *

_

-Genjutsu World-

_Tsunade was standing in the Leaf Village. Naruto was tied to a pole and the villagers were looking at him in disgust. They were even throwing things at him. Worst of all, his friends were in the fray. She stood in horror as Sakura walked up to Naruto._

_"You failed to bring Sasuke-kun back to me… How can I forgive a weakling like you? You were always second best to Sasuke in every way… Even in my heart."_

_Kakashi walked to Naruto and whispered, "You were good enough for me to devote the full extent of my time to train you like Sasuke. I can't believe you actually want to be Hokage."_

_Tsunade was shocked at the effect it was having on Naruto. She ran to him, but he could not notice her through the genjutsu. She could not release the genjutsu from inside of it either. _

_Tsunade noticed someone else to the side however. It was a woman in her twenties; she had long red hair and green eyes. She seemed to be the only one to see Tsunade. She walked over to her. "I am sorry. I did not want to use the Pleasure-Pain Jutsu on him, but he attacked me and I did not know what to do."_

_Tsunade was speechless as she watched the woman walk over to Naruto and place poked a finger at Naruto's forehead, "Release"._

_-End Genjutsu World-_

_

* * *

_

Naruto awoke with a scream and shied away from anyone. It took a couple of hours to calm him to the point that he was merely under a genjutsu. Sakura was shocked that Naruto could believe her to be heartless, but she still worked hard to get Naruto as normal as Naruto got.

End Flashback

* * *

"Well guys," Tsunade announced, "We are heading back to the Leaf Village. We will figure out what to do about the Akatsuki stealing the scroll once we get back." With that, the Leaf ninja departed.

* * *

Deidara, Tobi, and Emiko were in town looking for a place to eat. Emiko told them she did not care, but Tobi and Deidara began arguing about it. Emiko smiled and rolled her eyes and began to walk around. She noticed a sign, Fortune Telling. _Hmm… Looks interesting…_ With that, Emiko entered the shop and was greeted by a hag.

The hag looked at Emiko and shrank back. Emiko looked confused at the woman's reaction and got closer. "What did I do?"

"Oh nothing Kimiko-sama," the woman said bowing numerous times. Emiko's face contorted into anger.

"I am not Kimiko. I do not remember being Kimiko so I am simply Emiko," Emiko snarled a lot more harshly than she originally intended.

The fortune teller looked at Emiko with interest. "Is Kimiko's soul still in residence in your body?"

Emiko nodded, "Yes. My friends say that sometimes she comes out and is evil. I do not want her to hurt anyone. I read about her and… I am ashamed to be the same person…"

The old woman nodded, "Two facets of the same soul in conflict in a single vessel is not good for you. Your chakra flow will be irregular and you will have a harder time controlling your chakra network. I can use a jutsu on you that can help you defeat Kimiko and stop her from seizing your body at times." She paused when Emiko emitted a squeal. "However, there exists the risk that Kimiko-sama might beat you and gain permanent control of you. Do you accept the terms?"

Emiko thought about it. _It could be dangerous having Kimiko in permanent control, but… Partial control might lead me to hurting my friends…_ "Yes I accept these terms."

The hag put her fingers to Emiko's temples and Emiko fell into a trance.

* * *

Inside Emiko's Head

_Emiko was shaking. The other presence was angry… Very angry…_

_"So you thought you could just get rid of me you bitch?" The woman turned around. Although she looked similar, she snarled at Emiko with such fury._

_"I do not want you to hurt my friends. If I did that…"_

_"You are so fucking weak. Honestly, how did I get rid of my clan so easily with such a weak portion of my soul like you?"_

_Emiko had tears in her eyes, "You think so little of them. Why did you kill the whole village?"_

_"Because… Blood ninjas like us gain powers from the enemies we slay. Also, our kekkei genkai functions better when we slay others who share it."_

_"Kekkei what?"_

_Kimiko smiled. "If you surrender control to me, I'll tell you?"_

_"No thanks, please get out of my head." Emiko tried her best to look threatening, but Kimiko merely laughed._

_"Nah. I like being in control. I think the first people I will kill first off will be that crone. She is a former Blood Ninja if you couldn't tell. Second I think will be those pathetic friends of yours. They honestly couldn't recognize a princess if one went up to their face and bitch-slapped them."_

_"Touch them and die…" Emiko said in a tone that did not sound like her own._

_Kimiko raised her eyebrow. "Oh really? Just for that, I think just for that, I'll start killing Hidan. The fool may be immortal, but trap him long enough for his ritual to wear off and he will die eventually."_

_"Touch Hidan-kun and I will murder you," With that, Emiko's eyes turned red and blood started gushing out of Kimiko's mouth. Within a few seconds, her eyes, ears, and nose started bleeding._

_"Well, this is a surprise. You just activated our kekkei genkai. I guess I am happy to stay in the background for now, but if you ever need my help, you know where to go." Kimiko smiled despite the blood pouring out of mouth._

_The world around them started to twist until Emiko was standing back in the old lady's store._

* * *

In the Real World

Deidara and Tobi were watching Emiko curiously. They did not believe the crone when she said that Emiko was fighting someone, but they would see her body twitch every so often. Suddenly she opened her eyes and almost collapsed when Deidara caught her.

"Emiko-chan, are you alright, un?" His eyes were filled with concern. Emiko looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah. I hurt Kimiko. I could not kill her, but I came close enough for her to relinquish control to me. Oh yeah, I activated my kekkei genkai. I do not understand what that is, but I got one!"

Tobi swooped down on Emiko and hugged her. "Tobi was scared for Emiko-chan!"

Emiko's stomach rumbled, but she looked at the fortune teller. "Thank you so much." With that, Deidara and Emiko who was being hugged by Tobi walked towards a restaurant.

"It is truly an honor Emiko-sama."

* * *

Hidan was getting water for Aina when he noticed something. "Zetsu! Get your ass in here now and look!"

Zetsu rushed at the Jashinist's call. "What is it? **What the hell do you want?**"

Hidan pointed at Aina. The dying orchid was twice as big as it was and had several new blooms. All the yellow leaves were green again and it no longer 'bleeding'.

"We need to buy a bigger pot. **Hidan, get money from Kakuzu.**" Zetsu said.

Hidan nodded, but Zetsu could still hear him cursing nonetheless. Zetsu tried to walk towards Aina, but was still pushed back by the barrier. Even though slightly put off by the fact he could not assess Aina, he smiled. _Well Emiko-chan, I don't know what happened, but I'm glad you're better._


	12. Hidan Released

Hey everybody! Now this is officially my longest chapter so far as of 10/06/2008 2:27 pm.  
Don't forget to R&R and check out my other stories!  
I do not own Naruto or the Akatsuki. I own only my ideas, hopes, aspirations, and poor Japanese grades.

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**Chapter 12: Hidan Released**

Kakuzu cursed at Hidan coming in and demanding money. However, when he heard the circumstances, he was less angry and an evil glint appeared in his eye. "A gift for your girlfriend, eh? I'm sure she will be happy to see your ugly-ass face."

Hidan flipped Kakuzu off and rolled his eyes. "Look, can I have the money for that plant pot already? I swear by Jashin that I won't buy anything else."

"God damn Hidan. Hardly cussing today… You really are taken with her. She is a bit too innocent for you, don't you think?"

A look appeared in Hidan's eyes that Kakuzu had trouble identifying: sadness and possibly regret. "We cannot be together. No matter what happens, there are too many factors besides her innocence. Jashin won't allow me to feel love for other people. My lifestyle is bloody while her life is pure and guilt free."

"How do we know she is really innocent? After all, remember her evil form? She looked ready to kill. If in her prior memories she was a cold-hearted killer, would that stop your unconscious pursuit of her?"

Hidan looked troubled. "I have to stop liking her damn it. She hasn't seen my rituals yet and although she seems to accept them when I told her about it, she won't like it one bit once she witnesses what I go through to do them. I hurt people with my rituals and some of them just happen to be innocent. You know she doesn't go for hurting people who don't have anything to do with her."

Kakuzu shook his head, "Ah… The curse of young love," At this, Hidan glared kunai at Kakuzu who continued. "You know you have to do something Hidan. She is quite taken with you."

"What the fuck are you talking about? Of all the people, why me? You can't prove that she likes me or that I like her for that instance."

"Well, you are obviously trying to get her out of your mind as you are cursing again. But it's obvious the feelings you two share. After Catch Phrase after you left, Emiko was watching you leave and her eyes were filled with something: possibly longing." At this, Hidan looks into Kakuzu's eyes as if to determine if he is lying and to his surprise, he was sure he was not. "She also was very embarrassed when we kept giving her crap about her affecting you."

"Leave her alone. Besides, speaking of rituals, I need to start one as soon as I come back with Emiko's plant pot. See you fucking later." With that, Hidan started walking off, scythe in hand, but Kakuzu could not resist one last jab.

"So Hidan, how does it feel to be sexually frustrated?" Laughing, he barely avoided the scythe's blade and ran off to avoid the overzealous man's next attacks.

* * *

30 Minutes Later

Hidan was in the town nearest the base and thankfully, they had a gardening store. He found a plant pot to that matched the specifications that Zetsu wrote down. He noted the two different writing styles used by Zetsu simultaneously. Hidan rolled his eyes. _How fucking hard is it to just buy a stupid pot bigger than the plant? But no… We have to let the plant go through different growth stages…_

Hidan brought the pot up to the register and noticed with annoyance that the cashier was staring… at him. Her outfit was one that would make women hate her and decent men raise their eyebrows at. Normally, he would have teased the poor girl half to death, but it seemed so wrong to do for two reasons. First, he was buying the plant pot for Emiko and second, it felt like he was betraying Emiko. However, the cashier, (_Hmm… her name tag says her name is Aimi… Wow… What a slut…)_ did not notice Hidan's lack of enthusiasm at her appearance. She bent her body slightly so we could view her chest easier, but Hidan was just fed up.

"Can you just ring up the fucking pot so I can get back to my girlfriend?"

At the mention of another woman, she blushed and quickly helped Hidan. Hidan rolled his eyes as he walked out of the gardening store with the pot in a box. He was walking back towards base when he saw something. _So that's the new weapon store in town? Wow… I can't spend Kakuzu's money, but I could spend my own I suppose. _Walking inside, Hidan was immediately impressed. The sheer amount of blades in the tiny cramped store was staggering. It also was not the cheaply made kind and he was willing to ignore the strong stench of blood (A/N: If Hidan's associates the smell of blood here with stench, it is pretty smelly…) for this kind of merchandise.

The store owner noticed Hidan's enthusiasm and walked over towards him. He was a mid aged man that looked so battle worn that he could have passed for someone's grandparent. His voice was velvety smooth as he noticed Hidan's gaze focusing on the scythes. "May I help you sir? It appears like you have a perfectly good scythe unless you are willing to trade it in? I assure you we have only the best weapons here at your disposal."

Hidan shook his head. "Just browsing. That's all."

The store keeper kept his eyes on the scythe and noted the Jashin symbol on Hidan's chest. "You follow Jashin don't you?"

Hidan was astonished. "How the hell do you know?"

The store keeper smiled, "My name is Atsushi. I was raised in a family whose village's tendencies were similar to that of Jashinists."

"Really? Which village?"

"I was born here, but my family is from the Blood Village. Did you hear what happened? The Princess just killed everyone and no one knew why but it is most likely to strengthen her kekkei genkai. After that, she just vanishes into thin air. Although I care little for my village, I want to know its destroyer. I have a picture of her if you wish to see it?'

"What makes you think I honestly give a damn?" _Shit the Blood Village. That's the place Kakuzu thinks that Emiko might be from._

"Well, she has a relatively high bounty on her and I know you are partnered with the bounty hunter Kakuzu."

"Uh, sure. I'll look at her picture, but if I don't know, I don't know."

Atsushi went over to the cash register and pulled out a Bingo Book. When he found a certain entry, he showed Hidan whose eyes went wide open. _Emiko…_

His eyes were amazed at what he read about the 'innocent' girl. _Damn, she was a princess and would have inherited the rule from her parents. _He looked at the photographs of her and they were way different from the Emiko he knew. _Is she licking the blood off of that weapon?_ Hidan did not know what was happening, but seeing that photo made him feel weird. _What is it about that photo? She looks so… hot… but she's not smiling… she looks almost deranged, Jashin I hope I don't look like that when I do that…_

Atsushi withdrew the book once it was apparent that Hidan had gone through it. "Know her?"

"No. I must head back to base now. Thanks for letting me look through the weapons." Hidan began to turn around when Atsushi grabbed one of his arms.

"No, thank you for giving your time." Hidan merely nodded and left out the door.

Atsushi looked at the entryway with a smile. "So Kimiko-sama, you are still alive… I look forward to serving you."

* * *

They were in a hotel at the same small town that Emiko had just defeated Kimiko. Due to the cheap budget of Kakuzu, even Emiko had been unable to get the man to understand the logic behind a bed per member. There were only two beds and Emiko preferred not to share with anyone. She would sooner sleep on the floor than risk waking up to a compromised position.

When Deidara noticed the sleeping arrangements, he looked towards Emiko. "You're sleeping on a bed, un." Emiko nodded and put her stuff on the bed. "I'll sleep on this bed I guess. If Tobi gets too annoying, I'll kick him off and let him sleep on the floor, un." Emiko nodded sleepily and plopped on the bed.

Tobi began running around the room until Deidara grabbed his arm, not too gently Emiko noticed, and told him to shut up. Emiko closed her eyes and Tobi took the hint and went to sleep as well. Deidara rolled his eyes. "Great, now I have to keep watch first." He walked around bored out of his mind. He knew that he should not do explosions, but he could make art… just not set them off… yet.

Deidara's hands eagerly ate the clay that was fed to them and he began making various birds. The wind came through the open window and Deidara shivered. "Damn it's cold." He walked over and when he closed the window, he could not help but look at Emiko. _She looks so peaceful, but her hair got messed up._ Deidara brushed the strands away from her face and upon feeling something warm, she began to curl up next to him. Deidara tried to get away, but before he knew it, he was in an iron grip. _Oh shit… Hidan's going to kill me…_

Emiko's right hand was latched onto Deidara's left and was not letting go. Deidara struggled, but the grip merely got tighter. Deidara rolled his eyes. _It just had to come to this…_ Deidara took his right hand and pressed it against her check. One loud screech later told Deidara that she was definitely awake.

Emiko's hands were clamped around her cheek trying to figure out what happened. Tobi was unaffected and was still sleeping. Before she could say anything, Deidara sighed. "You grabbed one of my hands and wouldn't let go, un. I had to use the other hand to wake you up." With that, Deidara shows the offending hand which picked just that time to stick its tongue out at Emiko.

Emiko did not look angry and merely laughed at the tongue. "I guess I forgive you… but I will hold this as blackmail."

"What!? Don't do that, un. Hidan will kill me."

Emiko was now curious. "Why would he?"

Deidara cursed under his breath. _Damn. Knowing innocent Emiko, she's going to ask Hidan straight out what that means and tell him._ "Well, if you haven't noticed, your presence kind of changed everyone a tad bit, un."

"Well, if it changed everyone, why is Hidan's reaction so special?"

"You don't understand, un. He thinks of you as… I don't know how to say it where you understand. You hold a place in his heart I guess is what I'm trying to say."

Emiko was confused. "A place in his heart? What does that mean?"

"Well, when you like someone a lot, they kind of hold a place in your heart. When you think of them, your heart skips a beat and you might blush at thinking about them. Seeing their face makes you happy and that kind of stuff, un."

"So, I guess Hidan holds a place in my heart also." Emiko said smiling. Before Deidara could inquire more, she curled back on her bed.

* * *

Rituals always relaxed Hidan. At first, the prospect of stabbing himself made him gag, but you really enjoy the fact that pain cannot kill you after a while. However, Jashin choose to contact him during this particular ritual.

'Well, well. Hidan, you have been a good follower as of late.'

Hidan was so happy. _Good enough for Jashin himself to want to talk to me._

'I decided you need a bit of a reward for you dedication, so I decided to slightly bend the rules for you.'

Hidan was confused. _Slightly bend the rules? Which ones?_

'You will be allowed to love and have someone, but only one person. You must tell me who and then she as well as you will be safe from divine retribution. So, who is your choice?'

Hidan could not believe his luck. He knew that only one person meant so much to him. 'Can Emiko be that someone? I don't know what is it about her, but she makes me feel in ways I do not understand."

Jashin nodded at Hidan. 'It shall be done. Her kekkei genkai will be useful for your relationship as well as your rituals.'

'What are you talking about Jashin-sama?'

'Well, she just mastered her kekkei genkai. She controls blood and how blood can flow.'

'I still don't understand the useful for relationship part.'

Jashin laughed, 'Blood flow. I guess you don't yet understand, but you will.'

Jashin left him and Hidan's ritual was done. As he was cleaning the blood off of himself, he looked in the mirror as realization hit him. "God damn, Jashin-sama is a pervert."


	13. Self Restraint

Hello everybody! Thanks for supporting me and my stories! Please R&R :)  
I do not own Naruto. I only own my OC's and ideas.  
Don't forget to vote in my poll!

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Chapter 13: Self-Restraint

Deidara, Tobi, and Emiko were once again on a giant bird on the way back to base. Tobi was thankfully asleep during the whole hotel incident and Deidara could only imagine what he would have asked if he was conscious. Emiko smiled the whole trip, but always looked towards the general direction of the base. Deidara noticed this and smiled. _Damn, she misses him already. If that pig isn't nice to her when we arrive back, I'll have to do something about it._

Tobi was shuffling cards and playing some games with Emiko. True to Emiko's odd statement about gambling, she was unusually good at poker. Her smiling face also never faded so she was a difficult opponent to read. Deidara had declined playing the game wishing to focus on flying home. Pain would be overjoyed to hear Emiko's real identity. He had now in his possession a powerful Blood Village ninja who now had several reasons to stay in the Akatsuki.

Tobi sighed after losing seventeen straight games and wearily packed up the cards. Emiko pulled out a note pad out of her bag and began to doodle. Deidara could not keep his curiosity to himself and went over to see what Emiko was drawing. To his surprise, not only did she draw well, but she drew a picture of Hidan, but it was quite different from the Hidan they knew. For starters, this Hidan had an actual shirt on and secondly, he was holding someone close to him in an embrace and Deidara had three guesses as to who this person was and the first two did not count.

"Miss him, un?"

Emiko was startled by Deidara's statement, but smiled nonetheless. "Yeah. More than I realized. I do not know what came over me: I just felt compelled to draw and drawing Hidan came to me."

Deidara nodded, "Show him that picture, un. He will like it."

Emiko's grin got even bigger if possible. "You really think so? I feel it is missing something, but I am not sure what exactly. Think if I show Hidan-kun, he will know what is missing?"

Deidara nodded again, "Yeah, he'll know what else needs to go into the picture."

Emiko looked thoughtfully, "I miss him a lot. What should I say to him Deidara-kun?"

Deidara glanced at her. "Whatever your heart tells you to say."

Emiko sketched a little more in her picture. In the background was a battlefield amongst a forest. Leaning against a tree was Hidan's bloody scythe. Emiko smiled at this. _Odd… a battlefield romance… But now this picture feels more complete._

* * *

Hidan was tending to Aina while Zetsu was watching from a distance. Hidan cursed under his breath as he dropped some more potting soil on the floor. _Of all the people to take gardening instruction from… it had from someone with multiple personalities… I have to pull through this for Emiko-chan… Damn I miss her… Even knowing she is the Blood Princess, I still want her around._

Zetsu rolled his eyes as Hidan spilt more dirt. "Emiko-chan won't be happy if you kill Aina. **She may even try killing you. **And with her family's kekkei genkai, she might find a way to. **Just don't take too much pleasure in it ok?**"

Hidan flipped Zetsu off and retorted, "At least I can take care of Aina. What kind of damn plant is she anyway?"

"Soul Orchid. **She bonds with whoever's chakra is placed into her and recognized as her caretaker**. She also grows to reflect however Emiko-chan is acting. **I am most curious about the bleeding that Aina was doing and how that was related to Emiko-chan**."

"Do you think she found out about her past?" When Hidan had seen the Kimiko's entry in the Bingo Book, he informed Pain right away. Pain was elated to have none other than the Blood Princess serve in the Akatsuki.

"**Hmm**… that is a possibility, but we'll have to ask when she gets back." Zetsu was finally satisfied with how Hidan transferred Aina and allowed him to replace her back in Emiko's room. Over the horizon, Zetsu could barely see a giant bird.

"Get out everyone! **Emiko-chan, Deidara, and Tobi are back.**"

Everyone rushed out to greet the returning group on the lawn. Tobi happily bounced around and gave Pain the Scroll of Moonlight. Deidara recounted the battle with the Leaf Ninja and took quite a bit of time describing Emiko's genjutsu. Emiko, however, opted to rush towards Hidan and embrace him.

"Hidan-kun, I missed you." Emiko had a big smile and although at first Hidan was surprised, he soon returned the embrace. Upon looking around, Hidan realized that Kakuzu was having way too much fun snickering and flipped him off behind Emiko's back.

"I missed you too Emiko-chan. I've been stuck with that money grubber." He released Emiko from the embrace and she looked at him. Their faces were slightly pink.

"Hidan-kun, I found out who I was…" She looked up at him as if trying to gauge his reaction. Her right hand unconsciously gripped Hidan's cloak close to his chest.

"Princess Kimiko Fushigi. I found out while in town about your past or at least part of it. Do you have your full memories or any memories at all?"

"No, I have none at all. I managed to take over my body so Kimiko will not be bugging me, but my memories remain locked away. For the better also, I do not want to remember some of the things I did." At this, Emiko drew closer to Hidan and placed her right hand on his chest. Hidan blushed and both of them seemed temporarily unaware that the rest of the Akatsuki was watching them.

"Hidan-kun, why is your heart beating so fast? Are you alright?" Hidan turned bright red. "And you are flushed; are you sure you are not sick?" Emiko placed her hand on Hidan's forehead, but the process of doing so brought her body in very close contact with Hidan's especially since she was slightly shorter. Evidence of Hidan's loss of self-control became evident when a stream of blood came out of his nose.

"Excuse me Emiko-chan. I need to clean this up." Hidan rushed out of there and the other members of the Akatsuki were laughing.

"Did you see his face, un?"

"Tobi is going to clean up the blood trail because Tobi is a good boy!"

Kakuzu cracked up. "I wish I had my camera. That would have been some prime blackmail material."

Emiko smiled evilly at Deidara. "Remember Deidara-kun. I have some major blackmail on you."

Deidara's eyes grew. "Don't! If you tell him, I'm going to die, un."

Kisame raised his eyebrow. "Did you hit on Emiko-chan Deidara?"

"No, un. I can't tell you what happened, but it was nothing like that, un."

Itachi smirked at Deidara's discomfort. "Must have been quite something if she can use it as blackmail. Now, I'm betting that if Hidan finds out…"

"Don't fucking tell him Uchiha, un."

Tobi reemerged from the base. "Hidan-san fainted. He is really pale. I think he lost too much blood."

Emiko looked concerned. "Was there a drastic climate change or has Hidan-kun neglected his fluids?" The group began to head inside.

The other Akatsuki members looked at each other and thought the same thought. _This innocent girl killed an entire village of killers… and has attracted the attentions of Hidan._


	14. Emiko likes Scythes Too

Greetings everyone! Thanks for supporting me and my stories. Do not forget to R&R and check out my profile for polls and more stories. :)  
I do not own Naruto - Just my ideas.

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Chapter 14: Emiko likes Scythes Too

Hidan woke up in the infirmary portion of the Akatsuki base. He found out that he was unable to move due Emiko sleeping on his side. He tilted his head. She was sitting on a chair and now her head was on his chest. _Hmm… She fell asleep watching over me?_

Just as Hidan was about to go back to sleep, Deidara happened to be walk by and noticed him awake. "So, you're awake, un?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Hidan responded grumpily. He really felt comfortable with just him and Emiko sleeping and did not want anyone disturbing their time together.

"Well, Emiko-chan over here has some feelings for you. You are such an idiot I figured you wouldn't know, so I'm giving you the heads-up, un."

Hidan was genuinely confused. "Why the fuck are you telling me this?"

"I don't want her hurt got it, un? She wanted to see you all throughout the mission. In fact, she even drew a picture. You need to ask her about it; it is a nice drawing, un."

With that, Deidara swept out of the room and Hidan resumed gazing at Emiko's sleeping form. _You really missed me that much Emiko-chan?_

* * *

Pain was contemplating the knowledge presented to him by Emiko before she went to check on Hidan. _The Blood Princess herself in the Akatsuki… It's not every day that such an opportunity presents itself._ He had the Bingo Book in front of him as well as eyewitness reports to the destruction of the Blood Village. Everything fit together like a puzzle. She mercilessly slaughtered her whole village and without the blink of an eye. However, what did not make sense was why. Blood shinobi were notorious for being excessively loyal; even more so than the Leaf Village. It did not make any sense at all for the daughter of the Leader of the village to kill everyone: she would have inherited the rule eventually and if that was what she wanted, she would have had to keep some people alive.

The spy accounts, however, were iffy. There was written in them stories of how anyone that happened to see her suddenly had blood gushing out of their eyes and died because their heart was filled with so much blood that it exploded. He did not know what to make of such accounts and as such, decided to be cautious, but the next mission would certainly test her loyalties. It was only a matter of who would go with Emiko to retrieve Orochimaru's ring.

* * *

Emiko groaned as she woke up. She now realized that the warmth she had felt while sleeping was Hidan and rose up suddenly with a blush across her face. Hidan noticed her sudden movement as well as the lack of warmth and opened his eyes. "Why did you have to get up Emiko-chan? It felt nice and cozy with you here."

Emiko's blush grew deeper and she averted her eyes. "You should have told me you were awake Hidan-kun. I would have gotten up for you."

Hidan laughed and Emiko could not help but feel more at ease. "Emiko-chan, admit it. We both were comfortable and neither of us didn't want to get up."

Emiko smiled and laughed. "I guess that is true."

Hidan suddenly remembered Deidara's words. "I heard you have a drawing of me. Can I see it?"

Emiko mumbled something under her breath about wanting to kill Deidara, but nonetheless, she unveiled her picture for Hidan. "It is not yet complete, but since you requested to see it…"

Hidan was stunned. _Damn, she draws so fucking good. There's me and her…hugging… That's a battlefield…and my scythe… She actually isn't against all this?_ "Emiko-chan, that truly is a work of art. I thought you didn't like that battleground stuff and all that blood? I mean, I'm not complaining, just wondering."

Emiko nodded at his question. "I do not know what compelled me to do so, but when I was drawing, everything just came to me: the blood, the weaponry, the subject of the drawing…"

Hidan nodded. "I see. I missed you a lot Emiko-chan." He strokes her face and she blushes.

"Hidan-kun? Why did you bleed a lot yesterday? I did not get to spend as much time with you because you fell unconscious."

Hidan gazed at her. _She doesn't know…? Oh… I guess Emiko still wouldn't get that stuff…_ "I don't know what came over me Emiko-chan. When I saw you, I got excited I guess and got carried away."

Emiko's eyes were confused, but nonetheless, she smiled. "Hidan-kun, I have a funny story for you!"

Hidan's eyes widened. "About what?"

"Well… On the way back…" Emiko proceeded to inform Hidan of the 'Hotel Incident' at which point when Emiko finished, Hidan was ready to kill.

"It was just an accident though, I did do have a vice grip when I sleep. I mean, this morning, I held on to you quite tightly. You could not even get up."

Hidan looked into Emiko's eyes. "I'm sorry, but when I hear about a guy touching you, even on the face, I don't know why, but I wanna smash their face in."

Emiko widened her eyes. "Hidan! Refrain from that course of action!" With that, she engulfed him in a hug. Hidan blushed at the sudden contact and yet again, a trail of blood came out of his nose.

"Please excuse me Emiko-chan." With that, Hidan ran to the sink and while cleaning his face, the words 'Oh shit…' could be heard.

"Hidan-kun… I forgot to ask Deidara-kun earlier, but what is blackmail?"


	15. Hidan is Pale for a Reason

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Chapter 15: Hidan is Pale for a Reason

Deidara should have figured that Emiko's innocence would be the reason that Hidan was chasing him around with a scythe. _Poor girl had to choose this idiot to have the special place in her heart._ Deidara was getting nowhere running away so he decided to be proactive and was shaping a clay bird in his hands. Seconds later, he was flying away to the annoyance of Hidan.

Hidan cursed under his breath and sat down. Behind him, Emiko was jogging and she laughed upon seeing the irate Jashinist plopped on the ground. "Maybe it's for the better Emiko-chan that Deidara got away. I need to do a sacrifice anyways."

The other Akatsuki members looked at Hidan when he mentioned 'sacrifice'. Emiko had not yet been with the Akatsuki long enough to witness Hidan's sacrifices and they were skeptical of her reaction. However, Emiko smiled. "Cool, can I come?"

Hidan was taken aback by Emiko's sudden enthusiasm. "Uh… Emiko-chan? I don't think you understand… When I do sacrifices, sometimes I have to use innocent people because there is no choice otherwise."

Emiko did not look perturbed at Hidan's reluctance to take her along. "Well, sometimes Hidan-kun you have to make due. Besides, I thought I was going to get the chance to see your rituals and your sacrifices happen to be rituals."

"She's got a point, un." As much as Deidara did not care for Hidan and liked embarrassing him, he really did not approve of Emiko witnessing these acts.

Hidan was about to retort angrily at Deidara before Emiko took his hands in hers. Hidan looked into her eyes. He noticed she had warm brown eyes that seemed to attract his own lavender eyes. "Hidan-kun, you are in a special place in my heart. If I do not know about your rituals, there will be tension between us. Whether or not we agree about your religion is extraneous, but I need to witness your rituals to truly understand you."

The other Akatsuki members watched apprehensively for Hidan's response. A few of the members appeared to be placing bets. Kisame nudged Itachi. "How many minutes do you think it will be before Emiko-chan faints from seeing Hidan do his ritual?"

Itachi looked appraisingly at Emiko and Hidan. "Well, Emiko-chan used to be Princess Kimiko. I know that they are different, but deep inside, Emiko-chan has the same basis of personality that Kimiko has. I wager that she will be just fine, if not more in love with Hidan afterwards."

Deidara also was placing bets with Sasori. "Well Sasori-danna, Emiko-chan is exceptionally cruel so I bet that she will most likely help him with his ritual."

Sasori raised his eyebrow. "Emiko-chan, the innocent girl who didn't even know how she gave Hidan a nosebleed helping with the sacrifice? That is ludicrous."

Kakuzu and Zetsu were not betting because Kakuzu thought that Emiko and Hidan, although separate were highly predictable, together they truly were a conundrum. Kakuzu really was not sure of the chances of him winning due to that and Zetsu could not decide who to bet on. "I hope Hidan doesn't scare Emiko-chan too much. **She looks really tasty and I haven't got to taste her yet.**"

Kakuzu snickered. "Hidan will get jealous since he hasn't even kissed her yet."

Even Pain and Konan were wondering about the new potential couple. "Well, a woman goes to many lengths for the man she loves." Konan murmured.

"And a man might make small changes in his life for the right woman." Pain replied.

Hidan smiled at Emiko. "All right Emiko-chan. Let's go." Emiko smiled and they departed for the nearby village. Itachi smirked at Kisame just as Deidara smirked at Sasori."

"Looks like you'll owe me (un)."

* * *

Tsunade was having a stressful time. The failure in the Tea Country not only detracted from the reputation of the Leaf shinobi, but the appearance of the S rank missing nin that killed the Blood Village was disturbing. She helping the Akatsuki was a sign of bad of things to come. Naruto still had nightmares about the genjutsu he was placed under. He sometimes murmured about how the genjutsu did not even complete itself like Jirocho's had. Jirocho had made a full recovery, but was still had become very paranoid.

Kakashi teleported into Tsunade's office. "I have some information about the new possible Akatsuki member."

Tsunade nodded. "Let's hear it."

"She was found in the ruins of a minor village, we were unable to garner the name, but it wasn't the Blood Village that she was found it. She was being hunted by four men who wanted to wanted to claim the bounty of the ninja who destroyed the Blood Village. She was protected and taken in by the Akatsuki. That is the extent of our information Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded again. "Good work Kakashi. Dismissed." Kakashi teleported out and Tsunade looked out of her window. _What we don't need is the Blood Princess as our enemy. The Akatsuki are threatening enough._

* * *

Hidan and Emiko decided that if possible, they would try to use someone that was useless to society or at least a criminal Emiko managed to lure a thug to where Hidan was hiding. He licked some of the thug's blood and began to draw the circle. The transformation changed Hidan and Emiko watched his body carefully. The thug was confused, but did not have time to ponder his situation as Hidan stabbed himself in the heart causing the thug to die. The transformation faded, but Hidan remained fixed in the Jashin symbol. Emiko approached him, but he stopped her.

"I don't think you'll be able to get inside the circle since you are not a Jashinist."

Emiko contemplated this for a moment, but smiled. "It is worth a try if I can be with you." She managed to step inside the circle and she looked at him. "You have blood on your cheek Hidan-kun."

Hidan smiled. "I have blood kind of everywhere at the moment. It can't be helped with sacrifices."

Emiko smiled and leaned close to Hidan. Hidan was nervous at her proximity, but when she licked the blood off of his cheek, his body about lost it. Mentally, he was glad that his pike stuck him to the ground. "Hidan-kun, I do not understand how you or Kimiko-san can lick blood. It must be an acquired taste I suppose. It is not too bad licking it off of you though."

Hidan blushed. "Well, I do it for my rituals. You can't lick off all the blood anyway; there is far too much blood."

Emiko licked blood off of Hidan's right ear. This sent a sensation the likes of which the Jashinist had never felt before. Hidan could not take it anymore and his nose started to bleed like crazy. If he had been conscious, he would have laughed at Emiko's comment.

"Eww… Hidan-kun… As much fun getting the blood off of you is, nose blood is gross… Hidan-kun? I think you lost more blood than what is healthy."


	16. The Evils of Innocence

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Chapter 16: The Evils of Innocence

When Hidan finally awoke, first thing he noticed was his cloak was no longer on him. The next thing was all the blood that was on him from the sacrifice was cleaned off. When he looked around, he saw Emiko at a nearby stream. Walking over, she smiled and in her hands was a now clean Akatsuki cloak. "Here you go Hidan-kun." She smiled and Hidan took the cloak.

"Thanks a lot Emiko-chan. Sorry I bled everywhere."

"You do not have to apologize Hidan-kun. Something tells me that the nosebleeds you get are partially my fault."

Hidan felt a blush creep on and Emiko started to blush when she noticed his blush. "Don't worry about it. Let's head back before the other members any ideas."

Hidan stood up and gathered the few things they had taken with them on the ritual excursion. Emiko could help but ask, "What ideas?"

* * *

Deidara was watching the entrance of the base. He tried not to express his worry around the other members for fear of what they would say or even mention to Hidan. Sasori decided this would be perfect blackmail and snapped a photo of a certain overly concerned artist. Deidara fell over hearing the 'click' of the camera and upon noticing Sasori, began chasing him around base.

"Why did you take my picture, un?" Deidara began to mold some clay in his hands and Sasori decided to have a little bit of fun.

"What do you think Hidan will think when I show him this picture of you waiting for Emiko-chan?"

Deidara turned red and dropped the clay he was working on. "I dunno if Hidan will believe you. You just met her cause you were on that mission when she joined us. You don't know her as well as everyone else, un."

"I know her well enough. Besides, it's obvious you have a crush on her even though everyone knows that she and Hidan like each other."

"Don't be an ass Sasori-danna…un…"

Sasori smiled knowing that Deidara wanted this secret kept a secret. "I'll think of something for you to do. But, I won't tell you when you have to do it."

Deidara scowled but agreed. _I can't have him telling everyone. Emiko-chan wouldn't understand at all… all she sees is Hidan._

* * *

Emiko and Hidan had just arrived at base. She smiled upon spying Tobi who had just come back from his recent solo mission. "Emiko-chan! Tobi missed you!" He swept Emiko in a tight hug and she laughed.

"I missed you too Tobi-kun!" Emiko returned the hug and Tobi got even happier. Most of the Akatsuki come out to greet Emiko as they had heard Tobi's squeals of joy. Only Pain was absent from the gathering.

"No one ever hugs Tobi back except Emiko-chan! Tobi likes being with Emiko-chan because Emiko-chan makes Tobi feel fluttery and happy!"

Hidan's eyebrow rose and the Akatsuki members felt a rise in very angry chakra. Even Emiko noticed this and she went up to Hidan and smiled. "Hidan-kun?"

Hidan's attention immediately shifted from Tobi to Emiko. "Yes Emiko-chan?"

"Refrain from hurting Tobi or I will not come with you to your next ritual." Emiko murmured this to Hidan while tracing the side of his face with her right hand. Hidan turned red, but nodded. Emiko smiled. "Alright, since that is taken care of, is it lunch time yet? I am hungry."

Konan nodded and took Emiko's hand to show her the food that was just barely made a few moments ago by master chef Itachi. Deidara glanced at a still blushing Hidan and smirked. "I thought you didn't want her to see your rituals, un?"

"I didn't…at first…" Hidan averted his eyes and tried to think of a way to change the subject, but he knew the other members were having too much fun at his expense.

"What did you do besides sacrifice stuff?" Kisame inquired. "It is fairly obvious that something else happened and we are most intrigued." True to his word, every Akatsuki member present was interested. Even Itachi, Sasori, and Kakuzu raised their eyebrows in interest about their newest member's recent adventure.

"Nothing fucking happened ok!" Hidan practically shouted at the members. He knew something was up when they all began snickering. Feeling a certain presence behind him, he turned around to face Emiko.

"Hidan-kun, thanks for bringing me along. It was fun and I think I learned something today…"

Kakuzu snorted. "You learned something from Hidan! I think hell just froze over…"

Hidan glared at Kakuzu, but Emiko merely smiled. "Yeah… I understand Kimiko-san a little better now… Blood really is not all the bad when it comes from the right people…"

The Akatsuki members' gazes shifted rapidly from Emiko to Hidan, who was turning red again. "She was just curious as to how blood tasted like ok everyone."

Emiko smiled and pulled Hidan into an unexpected hug. The Jashinist turned red and everyone laughed. In a quiet voice, she whispered in his ear. "To be honest, your blood would be the only blood I could tolerate. There is something about your blood that does something to me…. I do not know what, but… I liked it."

Hidan nodded and Emiko released him. Pain came out with a mission scroll. "Emiko-chan, Sasori, and Deidara, come here. I have a mission for you three."

Emiko glanced quickly at Hidan who nodded. She smiled and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. He blushed and she dashed off with a stunned Deidara and a smirking Sasori. Kisame elbowed Hidan. "Wow… I didn't think she liked you that much…"

Hidan muttered various words under his breath that sounded like, 'Shut up stupid fish' and pinched his nose. _I hope to Jashin that it is only her kekkei genkai causing me to have these stupid nosebleeds._

A mysterious voice popped into Hidan's head and sure enough, he felt Jashin's presence. 'That isn't her kekkei genkai working on you. It is the attraction you feel towards her. Trust me, you will know for sure when she uses her kekkei genkai on you.'

Just as fast he appeared, he vanished. Hidan's eyes were glazed over, but he woke up when Kakuzu sent him flying using his tentacles. Hidan shouted angrily at the masked ninja. "You bastard! Just wait until I land!"


	17. The Reason

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Chapter 17: The Reason

Pain sighed as he heard Hidan's profanity all the way in the meeting room. Emiko laughed while Sasori and Deidara smirked. "Emiko-chan, your mission is to steal the Akatsuki ring from Orochimaru. That part you have to do on your own, but if the opportunity presents itself, you three are to kill him."

The three ninja nodded and Sasori raised a question. "Leader-sama, when are we to leave?"

"In two hours and there is no definite time length for this mission, but I would prefer it done sooner rather than later."

Sasori nodded in agreement and the three ninja headed outside just in time to hear Hidan cursing at Kakuzu with some choice language. He stopped, however, when he spotted Emiko. "Emiko-chan, did you find out your mission?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I have to steal Orochimaru's ring. I would like to very much kill that snake however. Make him bleed to death…" She intoned in an oddly chilling voice. "It is because of him I had to do away with my village…"

Hidan gazed at Emiko, Deidara was plain confused, and Sasori pretended to prepare some puppets, but in reality was all ears. Emiko noticed all the attention and shook her head. "Another time… this is not a good time to explain."

Her teammates nodded and drifted off to prepare for the mission leaving Hidan alone with Emiko. "Emiko-chan… how do you feel? Completing this mission will allow you to be initiated into the Akatsuki as a real member and then we might be able to do missions together."

Emiko smiled and looked into Hidan's eyes. "Hidan-kun… I will miss you while on the mission."

Hidan gazed into her soft brown eyes, his face getting closer to her own. "I will count the seconds until you are back into my arms."

They were in a deep embrace, faces only millimeters apart. "Like this?" She murmured in a soft voice.

Their faces moved together in harmony as they moved into the kiss. It was brief, but the emotion behind it was obvious. Emiko's finger traced Hidan's jaw line. "With a kiss like that, how can I not have motivation to come back?"

Hidan laughed. "Only for you Emiko-chan."

* * *

Deidara was wondering exactly how much clay to take if he and Sasori were not playing a central portion in the mission, but at the chance to kill Orochimaru: it was better to be safe than sorry. He was looking for various amounts of his explosive clay when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in, un!"

Deidara immediately regretted those words when an overjoyed Tobi swooped in from the hallway and engulfed him in a hug. "YAY! Senpai must be in a good mood to let Tobi in! Is it because Tobi is a good boy?"

Deidara's eyebrow twitched as he pried Tobi off of him. "I'm getting ready for a mission, un. Don't mess with any of my stuff; especially my clay."

"Tobi won't because Tobi is a good boy!" Deidara sweat-drops and shakes his head. "Be careful Deidara-senpai. Emiko-chan has been laughing evilly in the hallway and talking about killing Orochimaru since she got that mission…"

Deidara's raised his eyebrow. "She mentioned earlier about him being the reason she killed her village, but she refused to elaborate, un."

Tobi was pondering the mysteries presented to his brain when Sasori appeared at the doorway. "Deidara, get your ass over here brat. We need to go now and I hate being kept waiting."

"But danna, un! Emiko-chan isn't ready yet because she spent like an hour with Hidan and she is still packing, un."

"That is because she is a girl Deidara and you are not. Or are you?"

Deidara cursed under his breath and after shooing Tobi out of his room, gathered up all his clay pouches and supplies and meet Sasori next to Emiko's door. Just as Deidara arrived, Emiko emerged from her room with a smile. Deidara's jaw dropped when he saw what Emiko had with her.

Emiko raised her eyebrow until Sasori rolled his eyes. "Where did you get the scythe Emiko-chan?"

Emiko's grin grew wider. "Hidan-kun got it for me. He said that he swore that Jashin told him that this one was perfect… for drawing blood… I am going to enjoy seeing Orochimaru bleed…" An evil laughter resonated from her, but she seemed to fade back into her happy-go-lucky persona.

Deidara sweat-dropped. "Have you learned to control your kekkei genkai Emiko-chan, un?"

"No, but Hidan-kun said when I get back, I could practice on him since he cannot die. He seems to enjoy the blood a little bit too."

Sasori sighed. "Alright, let's get moving." Just as they were almost out, Hidan grabbed Emiko's hand. She looked at him with a smile.

"I will be back soon and when I get back…" Her words were silenced with a kiss from Hidan. It was short like their first, but the passion involved was more evident. Deidara's jaw dropped and Sasori raised his eyebrow.

Emiko smiled and to everyone's surprise, she initiated a kiss with Hidan, but did the unexpected: she bit his lower lip. A drop of blood was the result, but the taste was making her thoughts irrational. Hidan was trying to suppress a moan from the delicious pain he experienced from Emiko. He managed to pull himself away. "When you get back, we can continue."

Emiko composed herself, nodded, and then smiled. "Alright Hidan-kun, I will be back later." Hidan waved as they departed, laughing at Deidara's and Sasori's expressions.


	18. Those Eyes

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Chapter 18: Those Eyes

Sasori and Deidara were very quiet as they were on Deidara's giant flying bird heading towards the Sound Village. Emiko was even quieter being in asleep. To be stealthy, they had forgone their Akatsuki robes for now and Emiko had sealed her scythe in a scroll.

Deidara watched the young woman sleep. "Sasori-danna, what does she see in that idiot?"

"I'm not sure either, but if it makes her happy, let it be. Hidan's behavior has improved exponentially since her appearance and I like it better this way."

"What if Hidan corrupts her? You heard her earlier wanting Orochimaru to 'bleed' and you saw the scythe. What if she decides to become a Jashinist next?"

"She accepts that Hidan might have to kill innocents because he already is one so I think that deters her enough to not become one."

"If she starts liking blood, I will be a little more than freaked out, un." They stopped talking when Emiko sat up, but her eyes looked different, sharper and colder.

Sasori noticed something else. "Are you Kimiko-san? You shouldn't be able to come out since Emiko is wearing her seal."

Kimiko smirked. "She's letting me come out and play for a little bit. You see, we both want Orochimaru dead and she is willing to let me control her and I am willing to have her moral restraints upon me." Her eyes turned red as her kekkei genkai activated. "That snake is the reason I have nothing left to love… He took away everything from me… There is no fucking way in hell I am letting him take away what Emiko has."

* * *

Hidan did not want to admit it, but in only one day of her departure, he was missing her terribly. He was a little dazed while doing his ritual and Jashin did not make it easier with his appearance.

"Relax my follower. She cares a great deal about you and if it is of any comfort, Kimiko won't let her die."

"I don't give a fuck about Kimiko, it's Emiko-chan I care for."

"It's funny how when someone's soul gets sealed within itself how a different facet of personality can emerge. The bloodthirsty Kimiko could have developed to be just like the innocent Emiko if her circumstances where right. Unfortunately, there were issues with development, her genetics, and exactly where she was raised."

"Well, being from the Blood Village probably is hell for a child I assume."

"Right you are Hidan. Also, having a kekkei genkai revolving around blood is not great for someone who was able to use their blood trait ability at an extremely young age. The Blood Village is not the ideal nursery, but it is odd how in living with the Akatsuki that Emiko was able to develop as an innocent, good hearted person."

Hidan had a wondrous look upon his face. "Yeah… We actually are a positive influence on her…" Jashin smirked and departed. Hidan picked himself up from his ritual and began to clean the area.

He walked into the kitchen after a quick shower and grabbed an apple and started to eat it slowly. Tobi was already happily munching on what Hidan had the horror to see was sugary cereal. Kakuzu was having coffee and looked up at Hidan. "You actually aren't eating some meat in the morning?"

Hidan glanced at Kakuzu. "Fruit is healthy you know and Emiko told me to eat a little healthier. She told me she didn't want to come back to me being fat and lazy. She wanted me to train with her and her kekkei genkai."

Kakuzu raised his eyebrow trying to figure out if Hidan was making a joke and being sarcastic. "Like a pot calling a kettle black. She is constantly eating meat. That woman hates drinking water and eats no vegetables. She knows we hardly have any fruit around here."

"Because a certain money grubbing bastard doesn't like to spend money to ensure that his teammates are healthy."

"Because certain said teammates like fruit that is way out of season and expensive as hell to obtain and keep fresh."

"Because a certain pain-in-the-ass leader wanted us to stay in this particular base away from any source of fresh fruit."

"So, I am a pain in the ass?" The atmosphere froze as Pain entered into the room and got some bread ready for toast.

"Don't mind Hidan Pain-san. He is just pining away since Emiko-chan isn't here." Konan teased as she looked around her cereal.

"I am not fucking pining." Hidan bit into the innocent apple viciously.

"**Like hell you don't.** Nothing bad will happen if you admit your feelings." Zetsu murmured as he emerged from the floor with what looked like a corpse in his hands. He placed the corpse on the table and it bled on the table. Everyone flinched and even Hidan's eyebrow was twitching at the scene.

Pain sighed. "Zetsu… not at the table…"

"But you wanted us to have mandatory breakfast remember?"

Everyone sweat-dropped. Pain had his head in his hands. "Well… you could take the body elsewhere and eat it or eat something else here, but not the body."

Zetsu snorted, but did pull out a scroll and sealed the body later. "**This will be a nice snack for later.** Hmm… where's the bacon?" Zetsu began to dig through the fridge.

"If you find some bacon, I'll cook breakfast Zetsu-san." Kisame glided into the kitchen followed by a wide awake Uchiha. Itachi grabbed a bagel and began hunting around for cream cheese. Zetsu found the bacon and gave it to Kisame. Kisame started cracking some eggs and began to cook breakfast.

Hidan glanced around at happy, dysfunctional family before his eyes. "I'm glad that of all the people Emiko met, she met us…"

Before any of the members could ask, Hidan continued. "I talked with Jashin-sama this morning. He pointed out that Emiko and Kimiko are essentially the same person with the same soul, just that one got sealed and the other was created without the prior destruction of the other. If she had been 'raised' in a different environment, Emiko could very well have been Kimiko all over again."

Everyone gazed at Hidan in fascination that he was capable of such advanced thinking. Kakuzu smirked at the chance to anger the Jashinist. "That was easily the smartest thing you have said during your time as an Akatsuki member Hidan."

Hidan confusedly looked at Kakuzu before finally snapping after a few moments. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"


	19. Patience

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Chapter 19: Patience

Kimiko was having way too much fun walking around while Emiko was asleep. She reasoned it was perfectly healthy for her to wonder around while Emiko was experiencing REM sleep. Deidara was confused at this statement, but Sasori understood just fine and let her wander.

"Why are your eyes red, un? Emiko-chan's aren't red, un. She has green eyes"

Kimiko smirked. "You know her eye color? Do you have a crush on her or something?"

"NO, UN!"

Kimiko laughed a clear, almost bell-like laugh that made Deidara and Sasori look at her funny. "Emiko-chan involved herself in quite the situation. To get herself involved with an organization comprised mostly of men and to capture so many hearts, she certainly has that trait in her."

Sasori raised his eyebrow. "Don't be sure about all her capturing all the hearts; Kakuzu has five hearts and she would have to work hard to capture them all. Anyways, what trait?"

Kimiko grinned widely: a look that Sasori and Deidara admitted later looked sinister and almost psycho when it was displayed on Emiko's face. "She unknowingly attracts men to her with her innocence. I'm pretty sure that was how she snagged Hidan. I mean, look at her: she didn't even know why she was giving him nosebleeds. I'm happy that now the two of them are fully aware of their affection for the other… makes my work a lot less."

Deidara snorted. "So you were going to try to hook them up?"

Kimiko nodded. "Hidan is admittedly, hot. Besides, he is the easiest way to completely revert herself to me."

Sasori's eyes widened. "What do you mean completely revert?"

"She is slowly taking on my characteristics such as a certain bloodthirstiness and the love of scythes I had shared. Who knows how long it will be before she and I will be one and the same." She paused for a moment. "Emiko wants to come out and play now gents. I'll speak with you lot later."

Kimiko shook for a moment and almost slid off of the flying clay bird when Emiko regained control of her body. Emiko's eyes rose to meet Sasori and Deidara's gazes. There was a blazing fire in Emiko's. "Deidara-kun, Sasori-san, I will prove Kimiko wrong. I refuse to revert. If anything, she will conform to 'our' current state."

* * *

A week later…

Hidan was walking about in the nearby town where he had bought the plant pot. His reasons for being here were different however, but still in Emiko's interests. He walked into the weapon store and was shocked with what he saw. The store no longer smelled like blood, but the weapons were relatively unchanged. He looked around for the store owner, but upon not finding him, went to the young man at the cash register. "Excuse me, is Atsushi here? I have some questions to ask him."

The young man jumped at hearing another voice. "You scared me!" He sat down and panted, catching his breath, he met Hidan's gaze. "We don't know where he went. He just left his belongings and just left. The only thing he took was some of his books and his scythe. If you want, you can see his room seeing as you might have a clue as to where Atsushi-san went."

Hidan nodded and the young man led him upstairs to a vastly disorganized room. "Here you go sir." Hidan thanked him and the cashier closed the door.

Hidan walked around the room and his nose curled in disgust. _This blood… it reeks worse than the store used to… This area is a fucking warzone… even Deidara's room is cleaner than this…_ Hidan scanned the titles on a tilted bookshelf in the room when he heard a lock click. "Hey!" He walked over to the door, but was unable to get it open. "Fuck…" He pulled out his scythe and was about to slice the door open when he began to sway. Feathers were swirling around him and it had a dizzying effect on him. Hidan's eyelids grew droopy and he collapsed with a loud thunk.

After the said noise, the door was unlocked and the young cashier walked back in. He made a hand sign and with a poof, Atsushi appeared in his place. Smirking as he surveyed the scene, he began to try up the Jashinist with chakra ropes. "How the hell did this idiot make it in the Akatsuki? He couldn't see through my disguise, the genjutsu I placed over the shop to disguise its stench, or the sleeping genjutsu I just used." Hidan groaned in his sleep, but remained under the influence of the genjutsu and therefore fast asleep.

Opening his closet, Atsushi tossed the silver haired masochist in and closed it. "Kimiko-sama will come upon hearing her teammate is imprisoned. Blood ninja are loyal you know…"

* * *

Inside Emiko's mind, Kimiko sneezed. Cursing about stupid followers that she was unable to finish off, Emiko rolled her eyes on the inside and began to pay attention to their surroundings. They were close and according to Deidara, maybe an hour away. The puppet ninja was certainly displeased at how long it was taking to arrive due to the first clay bird they were riding mysteriously collapsing in on itself, but Deidara told him that somehow Kimiko's chakra mixed it and made it unstable. Emiko stood up on the clay bird and that in itself made Deidara overly cautious. "What's up Emiko-chan, un?"

Emiko's eyes were lined with worry. "I am glad we are so close to the Sound Village and closer to me becoming a member, but I feel something is wrong back home… We will not be back for a while…"

Sasori gazed up at Emiko. "Do you miss Hidan?"

Emiko turned her head back to look at Sasori, a single tear travelling down her cheek. "Immensely…"

* * *

Kakuzu was stomping through the base. "Where the fuck is that god damn Jashinist? I need him to come with me to collect this bounty since Emiko-chan isn't here."

Tobi looked at the treasurer with confusion. "Kakuzu-san actually likes Emiko-chan?"

"NO!!" However, he did have a slight blush upon his face. "She actually knows how to count though and it is useful having her around to control or at least restrain Hidan."

Kisame walked by when Kakuzu shouted. "Anyone know where Hidan is? It's his turn to do dishes…"

Kakuzu and Tobi shook their heads. Kisame sighed, but Itachi walked by. "He said something about getting Emiko-chan a gift…"

Kakuzu stood up. "I'm getting that bastard. He can't just spend all day getting stuff for Emiko-chan and forget about his duties." He stomped back to his room to get his cloak. He was not going to take any weapons, but he did find Hidan's extended absence disturbing, so he got his kunai and shuriken pouches.


	20. Followers through the Fire and Flames

Hello everybody!  
Please R&R - Reviews are awesome as they help me evaluate my writing and know your reactions.  
Also check out my profile for other stories and a poll.  
I do not own Naruto - A truly addicting show.  
I also do not own Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce - A very awesome song and easily the hardest on Guitar Hero 3.

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Chapter 20: Followers through the Fire and Flames

Hidan sneezed and that pulled him out of his genjutsu induced sleep. He blearily opened an eye and noticed he was in a closet. _Shit, what the hell did I get into?_ Memories of the weapons shop shook him fully awake. _Oh shit, I was looking for that Atsushi guy…_ Hidan tried to move around and groaned when he realized he had chakra ropes binding him.

He heard noise outside and immediately stopped shifting around. The door opened and Atsushi looked down at him smirked. Hidan rolled his eyes. "Why the fuck am I tied up and what do you want?"

Atsushi's smirk got wider. "Kimiko-sama… She will come for you and I will have my chance."

"What chance? You're an old ass geezer."

Atsushi laughed. His eyes swirled red for a moment and his skin was tightened and becoming taut. Liver spots disappeared and a childish grin appeared on his face. "Isn't my kekkei genkai amazing? To use the power of my blood to rejuvenate myself, I can stay young."

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Whoopie fucking do. I worship Jashin-sama and I stay immortal and youthful. No fucking kekkei genkai involved." _Damn it, I can't believe this nut is after you Emiko-chan…_

Atsushi was not amused and brought his fist down on Hidan's head. "Don't ever dare taunt my kekkei genkai. Thanks to Kimiko-sama, there are few that have this bloodline trait. We few must stick together to revive what is left of our precious village."

"I'm sure Emiko-chan has no intentions of reviving her village, especially with someone like you."

"Like she wants you? Kimiko-sama has high expectations. She had the best of everything growing up."

* * *

Flashback

_Kimiko watched as the underlings were attempting to prove their loyalty to the ruling family: the Fushigi clan. They subjected themselves to various tortures, but her father ignored most of them. Until there was one who strode forward. Older than her, she ignored him… at first. He set himself on fire and at first, she was annoyed that there existed such masochist people in the world. His eyes glowed red with the kekkei genkai of the Blood Village and his wounds repaired themselves and made him look young… her age. _

End Flashback

* * *

Inside of Emiko's Head

Kimiko was inside of Emiko's mind, looking at her previous memories in a mirror. Emiko appeared beside her. In reality, she was pretending to listen to Deidara and Sasori's art argument, but all her intention was focused on Kimiko's memory mirror. "Kimiko-san, what is it?"

Kimiko's eyes locked on Emiko's. "For some reason, this guy from the Blood Village is coming to mind…" She tilted the mirror and Emiko took in the man's appearance.

"Some old guy…? What is so special about him?"

"Atsushi Kyogou was the son of a noble family back in the Blood Village. He is way older than us, but he found a way to look younger by using our kekkei genkai. Therefore, father thought it necessary to engage him to us."

Emiko's eyes widened. "No way… I am not marrying some old dude. Anyways, is father not dead?"

Kimiko smirked. "That was just one of the many reasons I did away with the Blood Village. I thought I killed Atsushi."

Emiko shook. "I have a bad feeling that something bad is happening because of your blunder."

"Our blunder."

* * *

Deidara was waving his hand in front of Emiko's face for about ten minutes when Sasori pulled his hand forcibly back. "Let me handle this brat."

Deidara nodded slowly and watched chakra strings attach themselves to Emiko as he flung Emiko off of the clay bird. Deidara's eyes grew wide when he realized what Sasori was going to do. She dangled like a puppet and sure enough, seconds later her retaliation was clear. "SASORI-SAN! YOU BETTER PULL ME BACK UP OR ELSE!!!"

With a stoic face, the puppet master effortlessly yanked his hands up and Emiko flew in the air and was caught by Deidara. "Are you ok, un? You were like zoned out for a while. I thought you were asleep, but your eyes were open, un."

Emiko frowned. "You two, tell no one about this and I will not tell Hidan-kun that Sasori-san threw me off the bird."

Sasori narrowed his eyes at the attempt. "I thought you did not know what blackmail was?"

Emiko smirked. "I do not have to understand something to make it work."

* * *

Kakuzu was walking the streets of the little town, definitely not happy. _Hidan, where the hell could you have gone? Emiko would not want you to get her a gift if it meant worrying her._

He strode down the path that Hidan had taken hours earlier and now stood in front of a weapons shop. Kakuzu could already smell the rank stench of blood that emanated from the store. He peeked inside and upon seeing the mass of weapons, figured this was where Hidan definitely was at some point. Walking inside, he swore that the stink traveled towards the now open door and rushed past his nostrils. He noticed a young cashier and stalked over towards him. "Do you recognize that man?"

The youth glanced at Hidan's picture with disinterest. "I dunno. I really don't pay attention to the customers."

Kakuzu's threads immediately enveloped the young cashier. "You are fucking lying. Where the hell is Hidan?"

Above them, a loud sneeze could be heard. Tightening the threads, Kakuzu glared at the young man. "Take me to him."

The youth smirked. "You have to catch me first old man." Seconds later, a substitution jutsu left Kakuzu strangling a log. He cursed under his breath and walked around, looking for stairs that led upstairs.

"I am not an old man damn it."


	21. Immortal Blood

Hey everybody!  
Sorry it was a while since updating: I just finished a major debate project as well as an exam for my Business Calculus class...  
Please R&R - Reviews let me know what you like or dislike about my stories and what I can do to improve.  
Also, my profile has even more goodies to enjoy!  
I do not own Naruto - (Hauls Sasuke out of Emo Corner and sits in his place)

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Chapter 21: Immortal Blood

Hidan's head perked up after sneezing. _I hate sneezing, but if that means someone is fucking concerned, I'd happily sneeze my head off. This guy is psycho…_ He heard movement outside the door and tensed up seeing the younger Atsushi with a syringe.

"Get your ass up. I have a use for you at last." Hidan would have flipped him off if his hands were loose, but seeing that as a current impossibility, he rolled his eyes. Atsushi seized Hidan's right arm and took some blood from his arm using the syringe.

Hidan's mouth was about to go at light speed when Atsushi gagged him. Hidan's eyes burned holes into Atsushi, but he did not care. "You have now outlived your usage. However, you are immortal…" he glared at the silver haired ninja with barely contained disgust, "I think I will leave you to an associate of mine. I will be back later to take you to them." Smirking, he yanked the Jashinist's head up by his hair. "Kimiko-sama definitely won't want you after Orochimaru's experiments."

Hidan death glared at the man before him before he was shoved back into the closet. A rush of chakra later and he felt nothing outside the closet. His eyes trailed to his arm. _Why did he want my blood?_

* * *

Emiko's hand flew to her right arm. Deidara looked up at Emiko with a look of concern. "Weird… something pricked my arm…"

Sasori briefly examined her arm and his eyes briefly flickered to hers. "There is no wound so why would it hurt?"

Her eyes clouded. "Hidan-kun… this is not a ritual he is doing… he is in danger…"

The two artists briefly exchanged glances. Deidara gave Emiko a gentle hug, but not too tight remembering Kimiko's reaction. "How are you certain?"

She smiled with half lidded eyes and Deidara stared at her, confusion evident. "I bit his lip and tasted his blood." Her eyes closed and when they opened again, the gentle brown became red. "My kekkei genkai has activated without Kimiko's interference and this is just one ability of mine."

* * *

Kakuzu had just broken the various chakra locks on the stairway door. Upon arriving upstairs, he immediately smelt blood and headed towards the smelliest room. Forcing it open, he about collapsed from the stench and he pulled his mask tighter around his nose. "Damn it all! Hidan! If your ass is in here, make a noise or something!"

Seconds later, there was a loud thunk coming from the closet. Sending his threads forward towards the door, not daring to enter the petulant room, he opened the door and retrieved the Jashinist. Using a teleportation jutsu, the two of them appeared in the forest just outside of town. Kakuzu was genuinely shocked at Hidan's condition. He was paler, skinnier, and more serious than he had ever seen him. Normally he would not care at his condition, but Emiko had softened everyone, even the irate stitched ninja. Removing the gag, he began to examine the various injuries strewn across his body. Hidan was quiet at first, but when his eyes found the puncture wound on his arm, he knew silence would be no more. "Kakuzu… That Atsushi bastard is planning something with Emiko-chan. More specifically, Kimiko. He knew her from before the massacre and has a fucked up obsession with her."

Kakuzu's bright eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "We need to see Leader now. If something is going on that deals with Kimiko, we need to inform him."

He turned to leave when Hidan put a hand on his shoulder. "Uh Kakuzu, I don't know how the fuck this is relevant, but that guy took some of my blood." Kakuzu's eyes focused on Hidan's right arm. "I really have no fucking clue, but seriously, that guy is deranged."

Kakuzu knew that something was definitely going to happen. Gently grabbing his partner with his threads, he dashed off towards base. Turning his head briefly to Hidan, he sighed. "The Blood Villages kekkei genkai revolves around blood you know. What is special about your blood?"

Hidan's brow crinkled in thought. "Well… He was originally this old ass geezer. I mean, he looked flipping older than you!" Kakuzu glares at the immortal and decides that Emiko's wrath is not worth the attempted strangling of the man. "Anyways, he used his blood trait thing to make himself younger. I told him Jashin was much better as we remained immortal and eternally young. He kind of got pissed off after that…"

Kakuzu's fingers massaged his temples. _Honestly, could this day get any fucking worse?_

* * *

Atsushi smirked at the silver haired man before him, glasses reflecting the bright lights. "So Kabuto, this blood here may have the key to immortality. What can you do for me?" Atsushi handed a vial of blood towards the Sound ninja.

The medic's eyes acquired a cold glint. "Immortality eh? How exactly?"

Atsushi smirked. He loved this younger body, but it was only a matter of time before the kekkei genkai's would fade and he could not resist the chance at having a permanently young body. "Obtained from the immortal Jashinist of the Akatsuki, Hidan."

Kabuto nodded in interest. "This will be a moment. I need to examine the blood for abnormalities." Atsushi nodded and reclined in a chair. Watching Kabuto bustle in the lab running experiments, Atsushi began to think of Kimiko. _Kimiko-sama, with immortality in my grasp, you will have to accept me as your husband._ His thoughts were disrupted by the shattering of glass. Kabuto appeared in front of him, his face stoic.

"This blood is worthless… The blood has nothing special that would convey immortality."Atsushi's mouth hit the floor.

"So I had that bastard in my closet for a fucking long time and his blood is completely useless?!?"

Kabuto raised his eyebrow. "He was in your closet…?" He snickered for a moment, hiding his laughter behind his hand. "And people have doubts about me, Sasuke, and Orochimaru-sama…"


	22. Snake Pit

Hi everybody!  
Three more weeks until holidays for me so studying will be frantic TT_TT  
Please R&R - I love reviews since they tell me how much you like the story!  
I do not own Naruto or the Akatsuki. If I did, I would not be huddled in the perverbial emo corner.

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Chapter 22: Snake Pit

Emiko sighed as she surveyed the Sound Village overhead on top of Deidara's clay bird. "This place looks like a total dump… Our mission had to be there…"

Deidara smirked as Sasori nodded. "Orochimaru always had weird tastes. This does not leave the bird, but the brat is a thousand times a better partner. I swear that snake Sannin took pictures of me when I slept…"

Deidara was pleased at the compliment but obviously horrified by Orochimaru's behavior towards his partner. Emiko was starting to choke on air and thanked Sasori when he smacked her back to relieve the pain in her throat. Emiko's fingertips massaged her temples. "I almost felt tempted to shove a kunai into my skull to relieve myself of the pain that the thought of that pervert and what he would be doing with a picture of yours."

Deidara's eyes grew wide and he began to watch Emiko's hands to ensure that they did not go near any sharp objects. "Emiko-chan… I know you like Hidan, but you don't have to adapt his masochist tendencies, un."

Emiko laughed while Sasori cleared his throat. "You need to go obtain the ring Emiko-san. We will be waiting 10 kilometers south of the Sound Village for you."

Emiko nodded and gazed down at the village before her. "No problem." She turned to look at the two artists. "This will be cake." Silently, she leaned over and allowed the wind to blow her over the clay bird's edge. Deidara shouted in confusion and when he was silent, Emiko mentally thanked Sasori. She felt gravity's tug at her body and focused all her energy on the air around her. She smirked when she focused her chakra to her eyes and noticed the ignorant villagers pointing up towards her. _Soon… I will have vengeance…_

* * *

Deidara got extremely bug-eyed watching Emiko float off the bird towards the village. "Oh my fucking god! Emiko-chan! Sasori-danna, how the hell are you so composed?!? Hidan is going to fucking kill us, un!" Deidara took a deep breath and was about to shout some more when Sasori put his hand over the blonde's mouth.

"Shut up brat. She planned this. I understand your concern for Emiko-san, but remember, Kimiko-san is also there and she is a very skilled ninja." As stoic as the puppeteer's tone was, his eye did glance down below and he felt relieved to see Emiko still calm and collected as she was pulled downwards.

"Planned falling towards her fucking doom, un?!? Do you know how high we are? I don't think even Hidan could come out of this without injury, un!" Sasori sighed and started to tune out the ranting… that is until a punch brought him sharply back to reality. "You better pay attention! We can't let Emiko-chan fucking die!" He was about to make the bird do a nose dive when Sasori stopped him.

"Emiko-san wants to prove herself. Not just to Hidan and us or Leader for that instance, but to herself also. Her ninja skills are not the best aside from her genjutsu and she feels this is a way to prove her worth as not just the killer of her village. Now, shut up and watch." Deidara frowned at the speech, but had abandoned his attempts to stop Emiko and with Sasori at his side, they peered over the edge. Deidara focused the scope on his eye to watch the scene unfolding below.

* * *

Emiko definitely felt so much adrenaline at the moment and was enjoying every intense G-force infused moment; especially since Kimiko was going crazy in her mind. _Are you fucking off your rocker? Are you trying to give us a premature death? I would rather die in more attractive ways rather than as a splat or a smear on the ground… like being fucked to death by Hidan._ Emiko frowned at the thoughts and pushed them out of her train of thought. Kimiko mentally cursed but now, Emiko did not hear them.

_Hmm… If I show Hidan-kun how to skydive, he would enjoy the feeling of almost dying from suffocation and shock that the body is trying to initiate upon itself…_ She began doing hand signs as the crowd of people were gathering underneath her. She briefly closed her eyes before she felt the effects of her crimson hued eyes flow through her body. The blood that was rushing to her head redistributed throughout her body like normal and she was able to calm her heart, but still allowed the adrenaline to course through her. "Wind Style: Angel Wings." She managed to not wince when her back sliced itself open and to her surprise, breathed a sigh of relief when the blood poured out into the air above her until it solidified into wings: blood red angelic wings. Gently and effortlessly pounding her newly created wings, she landed effortlessly amongst the villagers who were staring at her.

* * *

Deidara was officially shocked. "That is amazing, un! How…?"

"Her kekkei genkai; she told me that she was thinking of ways to use her powers to help the Akatsuki in every way imaginable." Sasori was impressed that her control had advanced even if she still had flaws in her jutsu. He could see the attempted elemental control she was trying to exert over the wind to help shape the blood wings. It definitely was not perfect, but no one could deny the artistic beauty.

* * *

Emiko was highly amused at the villagers' reactions. They gasped and were practically worshipping her. She cast her eyes about and they found a silver haired man with glasses. Beckoning to him with her wings, he came forward. She put her hand on his shoulder and gently asked him, "Where may I find Orochimaru?"

The man gulped visibly, but Emiko's hand found itself in his hair and his eyes began to widen as he stared into her red eyes. Leaning so that her lips were a hair's breath away from his ears she murmured, "Well?"

The man managed to somewhat compose himself, despite the blush gracing his cheeks, and he motioned for Emiko to follow him. Smirking, she calmly walked behind the man. She felt her wings twitter, but she flapped them to recourse the blood through them. _I wonder what Hidan would think seeing me with these bloody wings._ Unfortunately, Kimiko decided it was time to reemerge in Emiko's thoughts.

_Do you really want to know what I think he will do to you? _Emiko sweat dropped and tried to focus on following the Sound Ninja, but thoughts of Hidan and his reaction to her wings kept dancing around in her conscious.


	23. Arranged Marriage involving a Snake

Hey everybody!  
Sorry it has been a while; finals, un T_T  
Do not forget to R&R - I love reviews, simple as that.  
Also my profile has more stories and an update poll for all those interested.  
I do not own Naruto or Miss Murder by AFI.

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Chapter 23: Arranged Marriage involving a Snake

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Miss Murder – AFI  
Reason: Kimiko's bloody past, Emiko's chance at a new life, and Orochimaru's demise.**_

* * *

Kabuto was silent as he led the 'Blood Angel' and although he led Emiko through the streets of the Sound Village, all of his attentions were focused on the angelic creature following him. People were gazing at her in awe and she even had some following her from when she landed in the village. _This will definitely be easier than I thought… _They reached a gated mansion, at which point, the townspeople disappeared. With fear or respect, Emiko never knew.

"Angel-sama, we are here. I am sure that Orochimaru-sama will be most interested to know how a beautiful being such as yourself is visiting him." Emiko smiled at the silver haired shinobi who blushed in her presence.

"Thank you so much." Kabuto bowed but could not help but notice how her eyes had a faint hue of green on the inside, but on the outside of the iris, brown. The red in her iris was very mesmerizing and he soon could think no more as he fell into unconsciousness due to an excess of blood rushing into his head. Emiko tensed as her wings fell apart and the red in her eyes faded. Her eyes assumed a green hue. _Hmm… time to find the ring…_

She managed to get inside and wandered through the halls… rather blindly. _Should have let him show me where the more secret parts of the mansion were or something…_ She tried every single door and would look in every semi-secretive spot. Thankfully, she had come across no other people while searching.

After a painful and extremely dull hour of searching, she managed to find a room at the end of the hall she was incapable of simply opening and walking into. _A challenge finally…_ Eyes turning red, Emiko bit into her pointer finger and pushed it against the door. She felt her blood flow into the keyhole and solidify. Turning the makeshift blood key, she entered and closed the dark, eerie room. She spotted her quarry and was about to head forward when a sudden chakra flare made her pause.

"Kukuku, to think the beloved Kimiko Fushigi has made her way into my arms." Emiko's red eyes narrowed considerably.

"Whatever; hand over the ring and I might for a fraction of a second consider not killing you." Orochimaru laughs and has an emotion in his eyes that Emiko cannot identify.

"Aww… precious Kimiko-chan does not hold feelings for me anymore… And I thought you were using my assistant to get closer to me." By now Emiko figured out the emotion: sappy desire.

"First, I am not Kimiko, I am Emiko. Second, I would never get close to you and the only reason I would is to spill your blood."

The snake Sannin laughed and looked deep into Emiko's crimson eyes. "Of course I know about you taking over after Kimiko sealed her own memories, but I must say I am deeply saddened by the fact that the Blood Princess has yet to mention me." Emiko's eyes narrowed considerably and for a second, they glazed over.

* * *

Inside of Emiko's head

_Emiko slammed a rather surprised Kimiko against the walls of her inner mind. "What is Orochimaru talking about!?!"_

"_Uh… it's complicated…" Kimiko tried to look innocent, but Emiko tightened the hold she had on her shoulders. Kimiko cursed under her breath and now regretted submitting to Emiko with all the restrictions put on her form, even in her mind._

"_Well…" Kimiko could not help but admire the malicious tone in Emiko's normally innocent voice._

"_Did I ever tell you how well you certainly play evil?" Emiko narrowed her eyes, which now turned crimson in her own mind. "Alright already, god damn." Emiko softened her gaze, but did not remove the kekkei genkai. "Well, back then in the Blood Village, Orochimaru had offered Atsushi help in obtaining my, uh our, hand in marriage. When he saw he though, Orochimaru decided to pursue me himself and my father accepted his offer rather than Atsushi's or any other suitors'. The Blood Village agreed to ally with the Sound Village if everything went off without a hitch."_

"_Without a hitch... we all know that happened…" Emiko muttered, voice laced with sarcasm. "So… you killed your clan and pretty much your whole village because you had two psycho old men who wanted to marry you?"_

"_Not just that. Don't forget that the crazier and more deranged of the two actually wanted to force my village to attack other villages just because we were allied. Just think of it; if this plan actually came into action, we would have been forced to attack the Leaf Village when the Third Hokage was also killed." Kimiko muttered, annoyed that her actions had been considered almost petty._

"_I guess you really did have some noble intentions then…" Her eyes suddenly grew hard again. "What did he mean by you sealing your own memories?" Kimiko tried to look away, but Emiko grabbed her chin and forced her to gaze into her own eyes._

_To Emiko's surprise, Kimiko narrowed her eyes and shoved her doppelganger off. "For your fucking information, I couldn't fucking take it anymore. Dealing with killing everybody hurt like hell… I couldn't take it anymore so I sealed my memories and for a while, I was content with the thought of nonexistence for I had before contemplated suicide. However, when I found a scroll that had a jutsu about sealing my memories, I decided that was a hell lot better than killing myself… I could give a fragment of my mind something that I could not obtain for myself anymore. When those four idiots tried to attack, I felt this need to preserve this life that before, I was so eager and ready to do away with… Your portion of your soul changed me; something I did not think could be done. I was ready to retake my life, but again you stop me… almost reminding me that I had lived my course and had surrendered control. I am willing… to do everything to preserve this innocent, carefree life of yours… Hell, I love the fact that you and Hidan have feelings for each other… So early in this new life and you have so much more than I could dream of. Now get out there and kick Orochimaru's ass so you can go back to that Jashinist!"_

_Emiko smiled, released Kimiko, and her eyes turned brown upon thoughts with Hidan. She was about to hug Kimiko when the Blood Princess had to open her mouth. "Then he can fuck us to death. I wouldn't mind too much dying that way." One glare later, Emiko returned to reality._

* * *

In the real, ninja world…

Emiko smiled as a scroll flew out of her sleeve into her right hand. Unraveling it, with a poof a scythe appeared. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "I could've sworn you were a swords type of girl."

"'Were' being the operative word or rather Kimiko is a swords type. My, I like scythes." He glanced nonchalantly at the bladed weapon with a bored eye.

"Scythes are all show. All they are good for is drawing blood. I know that Jashinist in the Akatsuki uses them for his ritual. Don't tell me you're infatuated with him?" Emiko smirked as she twirled the weapon around her and held it in a secure fashion that she had often seen Hidan do with his trusty scythe.

"He is a hell lot more of a man than you. At least he does not go through power hungry fathers to obtain unwilling daughters." The snakelike man sighed before opening his mouth widely and a sword came out… covered in something that looked a lot like slime. "Eww… Yet another reason why Hidan is higher on my list than you…" With an eyebrow raise later, Orochimaru attacked Emiko with a sword… being held by his tongue. Emiko blocked easily with her scythe and counterattacked, only to get blocked by a kunai that the snake Sannin pulled out of who-knows-where.

"Hmm… you are as good as I remember… But you still have some inexperience about you. That faint air of arrogance you have will be a joy to crush." Cue evil laugh and Emiko sweat-dropped.

"You are weird…" She launched an attack that he jumped away to dodge. Smirking upon seeing her chance, she snatched the ring and executed a series of hand signs. He tried to attack, but the ring was soon alight with vicious energy. Emiko heard a series of explosions in the adjacent rooms and could not help but develop a smile. "There's Deidara-kun working his abilities. I am certain that if I do not kill you, Sasori-san will."

"Ah… my former partner definitely holds no love for me then?" Emiko gags while Orochimaru sighs wistfully. "Damn…" Emiko face palmed and shook her head.

"You are sick, you know that?" She swiped at his head with the scythe, but missed. She smirked a second later when a scorpion tail struck at the pale Sannin. The blow missed his heart, but his cheek was struck. "Thanks Sasori-san. I can take it from here." Nodding, the man inside the intimidating puppet backed off.

Orochimaru laughed at Emiko's actions. "You haven't been able to land a single hit and once Sasori-kun does, you think you can take me on?" He stops laughing when Emiko smirks widely.

"Well, now your blood has been drawn and now that it has been drawn, I can control whether you live…" she held out her left palm where blood from Orochimaru's cheek was slowly gathering, "or whether you die." The blood was now pouring out of his face while he was screaming in agony, trying to force the blood back in with chakra. "Stupid old man, my kekkei genkai controls blood. Do you think your chakra alone will be sufficient to hold it in? If I decided to save you, even my kekkei genkai would be unable to save you from blood loss." With right hands performing hand signs, the blood rushed even faster as the Sannin was starting to shrivel from the blood being forced out of his body. Deidara rushed in and almost gagged at the sight he was seeing.

"Emiko-chan! You're safe, un! But… damn Orochimaru is one ugly…" Emiko laughed as Sasori smirked from inside Hiruko.

"Trust me; he was a lot uglier with all of his blood inside of him. Take cover, this will be unpleasant." Deidara and Sasori walked into the hall, but watched as a hand sign later, the blood flowed onto Orochimaru before exploding. The blood splattered everywhere in the room, going around Emiko however. Deidara's eyes became a lot huger.

"Emiko-chan! You so understand my art, un!" The blond hugged Emiko and began to nuzzle his cheek against her. Sasori rolled his eyes from inside of his puppet.

"I would prefer we get out of here." Emiko and Deidara nod as Sasori gets out of his puppet and seals it into a scroll. Deidara, however, puts his hand into the clay pouch and while his hand ate at the clay, the three rush off and manage to get to the roof. He tossed the bird into the air and with a hand sign, the bird grows larger. Jumping on the bird, the three immediately fly off into the sky, Emiko clutching her hard won ring.

* * *

Sasuke had, after much poking, managed to wake a rather dazed Kabuto up. "Why were you asleep on the ground?"

"Well Sasuke-kun, I was talking to this rather lovely angel with blood wings… then I don't remember what happened…" Sasuke rolled his eyes until a pain started at his shoulder where the curse mark was…

As the young Uchiha collapsed, Kabuto looked at his shoulder. Although very red and swollen, there was no longer a curse seal. Kabuto's brow furrowed in confusion at the recent events. _Does this mean that Orochimaru-sama is dead?_


	24. Hidan’s New Clothes

Hey everybody!  
I am sorry for the delay - I have moved out of my dorm for the holidays and my internet is BEYOND slow... This makes researching for my chapters very difficult.  
In apology for the delay, I have made the chapter slightly longer than normal.  
In other news, I have recently posted a new story, "Controlling the Iron Heart" a Kakashi/OC/Sasori story.  
Please R&R - I love reviews ^_^  
I do not own Naruto or Lonely No More by Rob Thomas

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Chapter 24: Hidan's New Clothes

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Lonely No More – Rob Thomas  
Reason: Emiko and Hidan's thoughts about their relationship.**_

* * *

Hidan woke up in the middle of the night, head ablaze with a migraine the likes of which he had never felt. An additional annoyance was when Pain's voice roared throughout the hideout, "Meeting!"

Groaning, the Jashinist reluctantly put on his Akatsuki cloak and made his way to the meeting room. Upon entering, all eyes were immediately on him and he noticed that he, again, was the last one to come to the meeting. "Let's get this fucking over with."

Pain smirked and turned towards the other members. "The mission is a success. Emiko has obtained the ring and killed Orochimaru. Deidara, Sasori, and Emiko are now making their way back to base. When they come, we will go to a restaurant to celebrate her promotion to fully fledged Akatsuki member; no complaints Kakuzu."

"I must say that I am impressed, so spending my money on this celebration isn't too bad… I guess…" The treasurer was interrupted by Hidan however.

"Emiko-chan is safe? She killed that snake bastard?" Pain merely nodded, but amusement had risen in his eyes.

"Yes. They are safe and well. Relax… you will see her soon." Pain could not help but smile as Hidan had burst out of the room upon hearing that Emiko was safe.

* * *

Emiko's eyes lit up, the soft brown sparkling in the twilight of the night. Deidara was very tired, but admittedly, did not want to stop flying. Sasori had decided to rest and was looking at the stars above them. "Emiko-san, are you alright?"

She smiled at the puppet master and glanced up at the night sky. "Better than alright… That Sannin can no longer disturb me but I miss Hidan-kun so much…"

"We can tell… un… So tired…" As much as the former Rock ninja enjoyed flying, he was starting to feel the fatigue of a long day full of excitement. As jubilant Emiko was at the prospect of seeing a certain Jashinist, she knew that they all needed rest and tapped Deidara's shoulder. Looking into her eyes, he nodded and allowed the bird to descend. They found a cave nearby and went inside to sleep. Sasori got out of Hiruko and sealed him into a scroll. Emiko smiled as the two men quickly allowed their dreams to overtake them and started to meditate after setting a protective genjutsu over the area.

* * *

The next morning at 6:00 A.M.

Emiko had awoken from her meditation and peered over at the two artists who were still blissfully asleep and unaware of their sleeping arrangements. Deidara was hugging the puppeteer quietly tightly while Sasori had his arm over Deidara protectively. Unable to resist the moment, Emiko pulled out sketch pad and began to draw the two artists. Easily and swiftly, the sketch is complete and Emiko smirks as she titles her work, Two Artists after a Successful Mission.

* * *

Kakuzu grabbed a coffee and walked around base and was greeted by an odd sight when he stepped outside. In an apple tree, Hidan was sitting on one of the many branches, heavily asleep. The treasurer smiled and wondered how Emiko had made the once carefree and reckless man change. "Come home soon Emiko-san."

* * *

An hour later…

Sasori had woken up first and was immediately red. Noticing the proximity that Deidara and him shared filled him with thoughts he thought he had not the nerve to dream. Slipping away, he noted with panic that Emiko was no longer inside the cave, but outside. Rushing he saw the kunoichi in a tree, eating an apple. She gave an uncharacteristic smirk to the red head. "Sasori-san… did you enjoy your sleep?"

_Hmm… maybe she doesn't suspect a thing. _"It was quite refreshing actually. Once the brat wakes up, we can leave." Emiko jumped down, the fruit completely consumed and whispered in Sasori's left ear.

"I am certain that he would appreciate waking up to you eh Sasori-san?" Sasori's heart almost stopped for a moment and he felt a weird fluttering sensation. "You looked peaceful in your sleep as did Deidara-kun. If anything, embrace it because you already did, figuratively speaking at least." Sasori is rendered speechless as Emiko casually climbs back up the tree to grab an apple. Sasori tries to avoid eye contact as he heads back inside the cave to wake up the blond.

Sasori looks at Deidara and feels a twinge in his heart seeing the blond curled up almost in a perfect ball. Emiko's words rang through his head and normally, the teasing of other members never even made him blink, but the words of this innocent kunoichi struck him deeper than any word of wisdom. Deidara's blond hair seemed to taunt him, almost willing him to run his hands through them, but Sasori grit his teeth together and shook the blond's shoulder. "Wake up Deidara. We leave in five minutes." Immediately, he stormed out trying to solve this emotional dilemma he now faced.

Deidara was by nature, a heavy sleeper and when others were around to watch, heavy sleep was what he often allowed himself to indulge in unless he was on a solo mission. He had never woken up so swiftly from sleep before in his young life. Looking out blearily at the entrance of the cave, he barely could see Sasori. _Since when did he not call me brat?_

Shaking off his sleep, he exited the cave and immediately noticed Emiko in an apple tree. Smiling, she tossed an apple to the blond who accepted the fruit rather happily. Sasori was leaning against another tree, also eating. Deidara was anxious for conversation, but today, Sasori was in a very antisocial mood which was silently conveyed to the explosion enthusiast. Emiko looked apathetic to the lack of conversation and instead got out her sketch pad and began drawing. Once the two artists had finished their food, Sasori nodded to Deidara who began to craft their transportation.

* * *

Hidan woke up to the chirping of birds, but the cheerful animals did not ease his mood and only fueled his worry. Looking around, he picked an apple out of tree he was in and bit into it. He suddenly felt a presence so he looked towards the ground and groaned upon seeing a hyper ninja. "Hidan-san? Tobi was told to play with you today!" Cursing under his breath, the Jashinist jumped further up the tree. He was relieved when the masked ninja gave up and walked back to their base to find another victim. Hidan looks up dejectedly at the clouds as he grabs another apple. As much of a recalcitrant member he was, even he felt a slight grin come across his face upon feeling that his partner actually held some concern for him.

* * *

Tobi walked back into the base and sadly told Kakuzu that Hidan was still outside waiting. Kakuzu nodded and gave Tobi an extra key he had made of Deidara's room. Tobi squeals upon the realization that he will be able to decorate his senpai's room the way it should be decorated. Kakuzu looks out the window and faintly sees Hidan's form in the higher branches of the tree. Pulling out a newspaper, the treasurer takes one last look at his forlorn partner and dives into a deluge of words.

* * *

Later at 10:00 A.M.

Deidara was now seriously disturbed by the silence that Sasori was imposing on everybody. Emiko hummed to herself and merely continued her sketches. The flight had proved extremely boring for the two male artists however. "Danna, un? Why are you so quiet today?"

"No reason brat. Just focus on flying." Emiko sensed irritation in his voice as well as another, almost completely concealed emotion, nervousness.

"Well, we could play a game or something. Loosen up Sasori-san…" The redhead glared, but finally gave in as Deidara exclaimed his enthusiasm for the game. "Word association?"

They both nodded and Emiko gave them some paper and a pencil. "Let the games begin, un. I'll beat you danna."

Sasori felt a smile grace his face. "In your dreams brat." In the confines of Emiko's mind, Kimiko gave her a high five.

* * *

Hidan was bored. Going to his room and surprisingly not seeing any members on the way was indeed a rare event. Finding a book about history, he groaned, but he knew it was the only literature in his room that he had not touched. The other books were books about Jashin or weaponry. He was curious as to why he had not thrown away this book which had been a birthday present from Itachi due to Pain enforcing the 'everybody-will-get-and-receive-presents-on-their-birthday' rule. Grabbing the book as well as a sandwich from the kitchen, he walked back towards the tree and jumped up.

Kisame's jaw was now unhinged. Itachi had walked in the kitchen and raised an eyebrow as his partner. Kisame pointed outside and stammered, "I just saw Hidan with a book…"

* * *

Half an hour later…

Sasori smirked upon winning the drawing contest he was having with his partner. Deidara groaned about it to Emiko, but she really was not focused. A smile lit up her face when she looked over the bird. "We are home…"

Deidara cheered and Sasori looked anxious to get back to his puppet workshop. Emiko however, jumped off of the clay bird. Deidara attempted to shout again, but Sasori covered his mouth. "Relax… she isn't stupid."

Emiko closed her eyes and reopened them, crimson hue evident. She felt the blood shred her back and felt an odd sensation. _This feels… good? Is this why Hidan enjoys those rituals of his?_ The blood poured out of her back and formed into wings. Soaring down, she noticed a silver haired person sleeping comfortably in an apple tree. Smirking, she quietly landed on the tree and went over to the branch Hidan was sleeping on. She noticed him most definitely asleep, but what surprised her was the history book in his hands. _He must have been really bored…_ Due to the lack of sitting room, she gently sat on his lap, lifted up his chin, and placed her lips onto his in a gentle kiss.

Hidan's lavender eyes snapped open and met immediately with Emiko's red eyes. His arms wrapped around the kunoichi and started to pull her into a deeper kiss. They pulled away upon requiring air and this was when Hidan noticed something. "You have wings… and they are red like your eyes… Kekkei genkai right?"

Emiko nodded and looked at him with concern. "You do not like it?" Hidan smirked and pulled her into an awkward hug, considering they both were sitting on a tree branch.

"I fucking love it." Emiko's face lit up as her wings dissipated and her eyes faded into a warm brown tone that when Hidan gazed into, he felt his heart stir. They began to lean towards each other for another kiss when Hidan felt his leg getting pulled and shouted when a thread yanked him to the ground. Without realizing it, he had grabbed Emiko's wrist and also pulled her with him. She squeaked with surprise and her face turned crimson upon landing on him. Hidan was trying the best he could to restrain the nosebleed just waiting to erupt when Kakuzu smirked at the two of them.

"It is nice to see you again Emiko-san. Seeing as Hidan had not yet informed you, to celebrate your mission success, the Akatsuki are taking you out to lunch. Please get ready as some of us, namely Sasori, would rather not be kept waiting." Without waiting for a response, the stitched ninja swept away towards the base followed by a stoic Sasori and a smirking Deidara who had noticed Hidan and Emiko's current position.

Both a vivid scarlet, the two rushed inside. The other members greeted Emiko cheerily and congratulated her on a job well done. She rushed inside her room quickly to change as Hidan had to bear the snickers. "Must have missed her a lot to be doing that already, un…" being only one of the many statements. Hidan's eyes narrowed and was about to give the other members a piece of his mind when Emiko's bedroom door opened. She was wearing a black kimono with red threads crisscrossing a pattern of bamboo leaves around. Smiling she hugged Hidan.

"We shall go off to the restaurant. Seeing as you two haven't seen each other for some time, you two are allowed to dine by yourselves, but we will be in the same restaurant," Pain decreed. Hidan and Emiko nodded silently as Konan handed her an Akatsuki robe of her own. Putting on the robe over her kimono and now wearing her Akatsuki ring, Emiko beamed at the other members. Happily the Akatsuki members found a nice looking restaurant in a nearby town and all of them went in.

"Welcome! How many?" Emiko raised an eyebrow at the waitress in front of her.

_Such attire… does she lack modesty or shame?_ "A table for two." Emiko did not know why, but she yanked Hidan close to her. _She better stop looking at Hidan or else…_

"Alright. Someone else will be right with you." She lead them to a small table in a corner before her eyes flickered over Hidan. "Say… I remember you… You bought a plant pot…"

_Fuck…_ "Yeah a long time ago." _Damn slut… outfit still looks the same too._ Hidan looked almost fanatical in his search for food written upon his menu.

"What would you two like to drink?" Emiko muttered something under her breath that made Hidan smirk, but turned to the waitress with a smile.

"Lemonade if you will and Hidan would like tea." Aimi the waitress looked at Hidan for a moment, eyes roving over his chest, before finally going away after he nodded. The other members by now had been seated and could not help but notice Emiko's irritation at the waitress's overly friendly manner towards Hidan as well as her attire.

"The waitress… **she's the one Hidan told us kept bugging him at the supply shop.**" Kakuzu smirked remembering well the tale that Hidan had told them. The other members rejoiced in the impromptu story session.

Aimi came back to Hidan and Emiko. Carelessly setting down Emiko's lemonade, the kunoichi narrowed her eyes seeing her drink being splashed around. Hidan's drink was however delicately set down and the waitress had the nerve to attempt to whisper in the Jashinist's ear. Hidan was not taking this special attention well but his attempts to cuss her out led to no avail. Emiko was now fed up and stood up very quickly and the other members did not fail to note the crimson hue in her eyes. "I am going to the bathroom. Hope that nothing happens while I am away…"

As she stormed off to the bathroom, the other members glared at Hidan who did not look very happy either. Two minutes later Emiko came back, chillingly composed and eyes back into a brown softness. She slid back into her chair and for a blissful five minutes, her conversation with Hidan was a pleasant one; a recount of the mission events. Before Hidan could express how skydiving off of Deidara's clay bird did sound like fun, Aimi came back with the steaks the two had ordered. Emiko was cutting into her steak when Aimi deciding that another attempt at flirting with the Jashinist was in order. Every conversation in the little restaurant stopped upon hearing a screech. Emiko's eyes were narrowed and the innocent steak she was cutting? That steak was definitely cut through and even the plate it was on had been cut through. A rather deep groove was now visible on the wooden table. Aimi's eyes widened and she quickly dashed off before Emiko could test the strength of the steak knife against a living target.

Mood ruined, Pain decided this was as good as it was going to get and pulled Emiko and Hidan to the side while Kakuzu paid for their meals. "Please act a little more polite in public even if you get a bad waitress." Hidan's eyes traveled to Emiko who looked for a moment, rebellious.

The minute the members got out of the restaurant, Emiko spotted something that made her smile. Turning quickly to Pain, she asked, "Can me and Hidan-kun come back to the base later?" Questioning look on his face, the Leader nonetheless nodded. Yanking Hidan, she pulled him into a clothing store. The other members smirked and looked in the window as Hidan was having shirt after shirt tossed at him by a rather enthusiastic kunoichi.

* * *

Aimi walked back into the kitchen where she bowed before a mysterious hooded figure. "You were right Atsushi-sama… she has a rather strong attachment to the Jashinist and vice versa."

The figure nodded his head and dismissed the waitress with a wave of his hand. Atsushi pulled his hood off and looked out a window where he saw Emiko walking out of a clothing store while Hidan was behind her, wearing a black shirt under his Akatsuki robes and carrying two bags in each hand. "Soon Kimiko-sama… soon…"


	25. Unlikely Alliance

Greetings everyone!  
Please R&R - Reviews are so nice and tell me you really like my stories!  
Also, please check out my profile for more stories and an update poll.  
I do not own Naruto or 'All Around Me' by Flyleaf.

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Chapter 25: Unlikely Alliance

_**Song of the Chapter:  
All Around Me – Flyleaf  
Reason: Hidan and Emiko's relationship**_

* * *

Emiko was sulking around the liar and was not, for once, sitting next to Hidan. The now shirted Hidan looked at the kunoichi in confusion. Deidara raised a blond eyebrow and looked at the Jashinist. "What the hell did you do, un?"

Emiko glared at the two of them before sitting at a chair next to a window. Looking out, she had a rather impressive view of a garden that Zetsu planted. "I have no fucking clue," Hidan whispered. "If you find out, please tell me… I really am not sure what the hell happened and seeing Emiko-chan like this scares me."

Deidara exchanged an apprehensive glance with Sasori. The puppet rolled his eyes. "I'll see what I can do, but you both will owe me big." Hidan nodded and Deidara nudged the redhead. Walking over to Emiko, Sasori sat down next to her. She gave a small smile at the puppeteer but still looked curiously at him. "Emiko-san, what is the matter? I thought after the mission, you would be happy to see everyone; especially Hidan."

Emiko looked at Sasori before she stole a quick glance at Hidan. When the Jashinist sensed her gaze, he tried to meet her eyes, but she relocated her glance to the garden. "Well… my body feels weird right now." Sasori raised his eyebrows as he was taking a sip of some tea. "I talked to Konan about why I felt weird and she explained that this is the first time that this personality or rather side of me has had to deal with what she called a 'period'. Kimiko has been rather quiet about this subject…" Sasori choked on his tea and slipped from his chair. Eyes widening, Emiko looked quickly to Hidan and Deidara who rushed quickly to the puppet master. "Deidara-kun, Hidan-kun, how exactly can Sasori-san, a puppet, choke?"

It was at this time that they were glad that Kisame and Itachi were off gathering more information on the Nine Tailed Fox, that Konan and Pain were off inspecting their other bases, and that Zetsu had taken Tobi to as he had delicately called it, 'draining his hyperactivity'. Kakuzu was still at the base, but was much distracted with counting precious money.

* * *

Sasuke looked bored listening to Kabuto and Atsushi's plan. Rolling his eyes, he looked out the window into the courtyard where he had the prior day, collapsed in the pain due to his curse seal being removed. The other two in the room were busy discussing Orochimaru's demise. _Honestly, how difficult is it to accept that Orochimaru died? A better question is how a young girl that has gaps in her memory was able to defeat a Sannin?_

Sasuke was jarred out of his thoughts when Kabuto's voice drifted over to him. "So Sasuke-kun, you have been rather quiet. Are you in on our plans?"

Sasuke looked between the silver haired medical ninja and the now withered old man that Atsushi had reverted to. "Why the hell would I care? If Orochimaru was so weak to be taken down by an amnesiac, he isn't a fit teacher for me and there are no feelings of vengeance in that regard."

Atsushi looked at the Uchiha with amusement. "What if I told you that this woman is in the same organization as your older brother Itachi?" Sasuke's eyes snapped to the old man immediately. "She is an Akatsuki member and a powerful one at that." Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he considered his options.

Kabuto could tell that the young Uchiha was at the point where the agreement could go either way so he had to tip the scale. "I believe one of your other aspirations was to revive your clan. Emiko is a very powerful and skilled kunoichi that has a powerful kekkei genkai on top of it. She would be ideal do you not think?" Sasuke looked thoughtful at this, but his mind froze when an enraged look crossed Atsushi's face. The Uchiha dismissed this as the expression vanished as soon as it appeared.

"Fine… whatever." Atsushi snarled on the inside at the prospect of more competition but knew that this arrangement would only be temporary. After all, this kid could not possibly dream of the power and sheer chaos that Kimiko could unleash. Now Sasuke was 'fully' engaged in the information sharing session regarding the Akatsuki, Emiko/Kimiko, and Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

When Emiko left to make some tea for Sasori, the puppet master sat calmly in front of Deidara and Hidan. "Well… the problem has in a way, become all of our problems."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Hidan demanded. Sasori rolled his eyes.

"She is going through her monthly cycles," the puppeteer intoned in a deadpan manner. Deidara had a look of pure horror while Hidan looked like he appreciated the inability to die.

"Well, un… we will have to make sure she doesn't get mad at any of us…" Deidara sighed and looked towards Hidan. "And don't piss her off. It's bad enough when Konan-san gets angry at us during this time and I'd rather not have Emiko-chan pissed off, un…" Hidan nods just as Emiko returns with some tea. Sasori thanks her and the kunoichi looks at the silver haired Jashinist.

"Hidan-kun, may I speak with you for a moment?" He nodded and as they left, the two artists looked at each other.

"Sasori-danna, you faked the suffocation? I didn't think you were such a good actor, un." Sasori gave a small smirk.

"Theater is in a way eternal art. Besides, that assessed the fact she still cares about us. Her emotions will just be harder to control and the slightest thing could set her off…" Deidara nodded before a confused look crossed his eyes. Sasori noticed this immediately. "What is wrong brat?"

"Sasori-danna… how much of your behavior is actual acting and how much is your actual personality?" Sasori felt winded at the question but knew that Deidara would not leave him alone without an answer.

"Enough acting to protect those around me." Grabbing his tea, Sasori departed for his room, muttering about modifying a puppet. Deidara's ice blue eye watched his partner leave, trying to figure out the meaning of the redhead's words.

* * *

Hidan followed after Emiko silently. They walked outside towards the apple tree where Hidan had sat in, waiting for her to come back. She leaned against him and looked him in the eyes. "Sorry about all of this… I am unused to feeling irritated with no logical cause."

Hidan could not help but chuckle. "Don't worry about it. If it calms you down, you can fight me. It's not like you will kill me or anything. Think of it as stress relief." Emiko's eyes softened as the brown hue in her eyes became evident.

"Are you sure Hidan-kun? I do not like hurting you out of everyone else…" Hidan smirked at her. Emiko felt an unusual need to wipe that smirk off of his face.

"Think of it as a mutual training session: I suck at defense and you need more practice in general." Emiko nodded as a scroll fell out of her sleeve into her hand. Quickly unrolling it, Emiko's scythe was unveiled. Hidan also grabbed his three bladed scythe. "I will only defend against your attacks."

Nodding, the kunoichi charged at the Jashinist, scythe in her hands twirling rapidly. Hidan blocked effortlessly but could not help but be blown away by the chakra that her strike had infused into it. Her eyes slide into a crimson hue and Hidan smiled. "Hidan-kun… I do not want to kill you and you not being able to die helps…"

"Well, being admittedly a masochist, the pain really isn't that bad once you get used to it…" She slashed his chest and she gasped when she realized what she did. Running to him, she basically pinned him to the ground and examined his wounds. Hidan raised a silvery eyebrow, but said nothing. She ripped his shirt to more closely examine his wounds. "I told you I am immortal and therefore I won't die…" Rolling her eyes, she pulled some bandages and began wrapping the scratch. Hidan was about to open his mouth again and upon seeing this, she wrapped a bandage around his head to cover his mouth.

"Sorry, but it is hard to concentrate on wrapping bandages when you are talking too much." Hidan sighed behind the bandage and just let Emiko continue working.

Ten minutes later, Kakuzu walked outside to see where his partner was so that they could go bounty hunting. He felt a smirk develop seeing Hidan wearing what he could only call a bandage shirt. Hidan glared at Kakuzu and tried to shoo him away but the treasurer smirked. "We three have a trip to make; bounty hunting time." Emiko nodded and stood up.

"I will get some supplies and prepare. How much time do we have Kakuzu-san?" Hidan was surprised as Emiko stepped away from him and was about to go back inside.

"One hour. Please hurry." Emiko nodded and stalked off inside. Kakuzu went to Hidan and laughed as he ripped off the bandage covering the religious man's mouth. "What the hell happened between you two?" Hidan lowered his eyes in a mixture of confusion and hurt.

"None of your fucking business." Hidan stormed off towards his room to at least gather some supplies. When he dashed to his room and slammed the door, he did not expect a redheaded kunoichi to be waiting for him. She glomped him quickly and he turned to her in confusion. "The fuck?"

"Mood swings suck ass seriously…" Hidan laughed as he lowered his face to kiss her forehead. She smirked as she tightened the hug. Letting go after a moment, she looked at him with sadness. "We need to hurry before Kakuzu-san suspects anything." Hidan sighed and held Emiko's hand as they walked back outside together.


	26. Bipolar

Greetings everyone!  
Please do not forget to R&R - I love reviews!  
Also, check out my profile for more stories and to vote in the update poll  
I do not own Naruto or 'Shut Me Up' by Mindless Self Indulgence.

Warning! Slight Sasori/Deidara

* * *

Chapter 26: Bipolar

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Shut Me Up – Mindless Self Indulgence  
Reason: Emiko being currently in a love-hate mode with Hidan.**_

* * *

Kakuzu rubbed his temples irritably as he observed the two opposites ignoring each other. _How is it that one moment she is all over him and the next, she tries to murder him?_ Trudging behind the treasurer, Hidan hated this change in Emiko and prayed silently that Jashin had a cure to this curse. Emiko was walking in a swirling state of confusion and held her head trying to alleviate the headache she had no idea that she had until a few seconds ago. He glared at the silver haired Jashinist. "Hidan-kun, can you please be quiet? For some reason, your voice really hurts my head now."

Kakuzu snorted while Hidan raised his eyebrow. Falling silent, the Jashinist's eyes held the shadow of sadness. Ignoring the throbbing her head was immersed in, Emiko embraced Hidan and mumbled an apology. Kissing her on the top of her head, Hidan sighed. "It's not your fault."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes and counted silently to himself, "5…4…3…2…1…" On cue, Emiko had yet another mood swing and dashed away from Hidan and ran in front of Kakuzu, immediately glomping him. "What the fuck Emiko-san?!?" Dashing away, the kunoichi ran at high speed towards their destination.

Hidan cursed under his breath and he and his partner took off to follow the hormonal woman.

* * *

Atsushi reclined in what had been Orochimaru's lair and enjoyed ordering about the Sound ninja, but total loyalty was definitely hard to come by. Sasuke had made it known to both Kabuto and Atsushi that he had absolutely no intentions of working under them, but as equals. In addition to that, Sasuke had gathered a team of teenagers from within Orochimaru's organization that in their own way, unique. Suigetsu made it crystal clear that his loyalty to Sasuke came with a price and that was not reliable. Juugo was completely psychotic by all means and could rapidly change moods, but around Sasuke he was completely obedient and composed. Karin had only one love: Sasuke. That by itself made her an enemy of Atsushi and his goals. Kabuto knocked on the door to the room. "Come in."

The medical ninja walked in and gave a respectful bow. "Sasuke-kun and his team are preparing to head out on their reconnaissance mission now. Between the four of them, especially with Karin's chakra sensing ability, finding the Akatsuki base should be child's play." Atsushi smirked and reached for a scroll on the table.

"If you would Kabuto-san, ensure that this scroll gets to the Fifth Hokage Tsunade. I am sure she will find our offer too good to refuse." Kabuto smirked knowing about the deal that the arrogant Uchiha was oblivious about. Nodding, the silver haired took the scroll and making a hand sign, quickly vanished in a puff of smoke.

Atsushi smirked as he looked out the window and noticed the three subordinates around Sasuke. Karin had Sasuke in a vice grip while Juugo was trying to pry her off. Suigetsu was smirking at the scene and deciding that it was a far better use of his time to sleep so he headed to a tree, leaned against it, and took a nap. Sasuke managed to use a substitution jutsu so that Karin was glomping a log. Atsushi smirked and turned around to see the irate Uchiha before him. "What is so funny?"

"Well, why not revive the Uchiha clan with that young woman? She seems quite willing and her ability would be useful to the carriers of the Sharingan?" Sasuke snorted in disgust.

"She is so wanton that I will not dilute myself by being with her. There are other, better choices with which to revive my clan with and this Emiko is a better candidate due to her fighting abilities and her kekkei genkai. Even a few kunoichi from the Leaf Village would be better candidates." Atsushi laughed at the Uchiha's statements.

"But will any Leaf Kunoichi even look twice at you for being a traitor?" Shame flitted through the eyes of the traitorous ninja for a mere second before being filled with arrogance. "Everyone must have abandoned hope for you by now anyways."

"No… I know at least a couple of people that…" Guilt quickly surged through his body as he thought of Sakura and Naruto, but as fast as it appeared, it vanished without a trace. Smirking, Atsushi gave him a scroll.

"Get moving on your reconnaissance mission already. That scroll contains information about possible locations for hideouts that the Akatsuki might be using as well as a brief introduction about some, but not all of the members." Sasuke was about to open the scroll when Atsushi's hand griped his wrist. Sasuke knew the man was something not to be trifled with but the unusual amount of strength he possessed in his hand certainly was contrasted with the old man appearance he held. "Leaving now is best for your little ragtag team as they currently hold the appearance of an argumentative mass." Scowling, the teen jumped through the window. Atsushi smirked as unbeknownst to Sasuke, a line of golden words emerged from the scroll tightly held in his right hand and swirled around his arm.

* * *

It was a mile later that Kakuzu and Hidan finally managed to catch up with the kunoichi and Hidan could not help but smirk at the sight. She had fallen asleep in a field of wildflowers and her slow breathing convinced them that she had been sleeping for quite a while. The Jashinist walked down to her and upon putting a hand on her sleeping shoulder, she shrieked and jumped into his arms. "Oh my gosh, Hidan-kun you scared me!"

Chuckling, the man held her close and he followed Kakuzu. "We need to get moving. We used more chakra than we should of in trying to catch up with you. Can you walk Emiko-chan?" The woman in his arms shrugged and when he placed her down onto her feet, she took a tentative step before collapsing, Hidan barely catching her. "What the fuck? Kakuzu, come here." Kakuzu grunted walking back to the kunoichi and opened her eyelids and raised an eyebrow.

"She just fell unconscious. Nothing big; just carry her for now. If she is out of it, she won't be acting bipolar or anything." Noting this, Hidan nodding and picked her up bridal style.

* * *

Inside of Emiko's head…

_Emiko clutched her abdomen and winced sinking to the floor of her mind. She saw Kimiko kneel down beside her in concern. "I forgot you never felt that before…"_

"_Thanks for the warning," Emiko grunted and she sank even deeper. Kimiko sighed and sat down beside her._

"_Do you want me to take control for a little bit so that you can adjust to your body? If it helps, I will instantly phase out to let you take control when you wish." Emiko looked at Kimiko and slowly nodded, she felt Kimiko surround her as she took control._

* * *

In the real world…

Hidan felt a jerk and looked down at Emiko, but he noticed her eyes were a little different. More controlled and definitely filled with a darker knowledge. He stopped and let her stand tentatively. "Kimiko-san?" Nodding the woman motioned for them to continue following Kakuzu.

"Emiko-chan is having difficulty adjusting to what has happened… I am here to ease the transaction until she feels in control enough to resume her role in life." She explained to both men. Nodding, Kakuzu pointed at an inn.

"We are staying there tonight. It is cheap, but has surprisingly good service." Hidan groaned as they made their way to the room and noticing the lack of beds.

"Only two… you bastard…" Kimiko smirked and jumped onto one bed claiming as her own.

"I assure you; there was no room here that had three beds and that my parents were married when I was conceived." Kimiko laughed in amusement.

"I'll leave you two to figure out sleeping arrangements." She closed her eyes and allowed control to slip from her grasp. Hidan allowed his hand to come and stroke a strand of hair out of her face when her eyes snapped open and instead of a cool hardness, the soft shimmering of her eyes notified him as to who it was. She sat up on the bed and Hidan sat next to her.

"Emiko-chan…" Hidan kissed her forehead and nuzzled her cheek. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah a little bit." She rested her head on his shoulders. "I just need a little nap… a real nap not just sleeping in my head." Her voice lowered and she looked at the silver haired man tentatively. " Hidan-kun, can you make sure that the bad men stay away?" Nodding the Jashinist watched as she began to fall asleep in his arms, her head leaning against his chest. Hidan glanced over at Kakuzu who wordlessly understood. Hidan laced his arms protectively over her and fell asleep, head in the crook of her neck.

* * *

Sasori watched Deidara breathe a sigh of relief being out of the reach of a woman who could swiftly turn homicidal. He looked towards the blond who was humming a tune. "What are you doing?"

"Well… no one else is here so I thought I would try something…" Sasori raised a crimson eyebrow as Deidara swiftly closed the distance between them

"Try what?" Sasori whispered in a small voice that to Deidara contained an emotion he had not expected: want. Deidara's single visible eye clouded for a second before clearing with a stunning sharpness. He moved so close that all that Sasori saw was golden blond hair and a crystal clear sapphire eye.

"I... can't, un…" Pulling away, the shinobi was about to dash off when he stopped and not of his free will. Looking at his arms and legs, thin strings of chakra ran from them back to his partner. Deidara's head turned to Sasori with confusion in his eyes. "Danna… un?"

Sasori jerked his hand and Deidara felt and watched as he began to walk towards Sasori. The redhead whispered into his ear, "What were you wanting to try Deidara?" The blond's eye widened but nothing but a whimper escaped his mouth. Sasori cupped his cheek and softly kissed him on the lips. "Really, that wasn't difficult was it?" Deidara was speechless as his cheeks obtained a slight blush. Sasori smirked and walked out of the room.

Sasori meanwhile could not believe that he had just kissed his partner. While he felt that he had been desiring it, actually getting the courage was difficult until he saw how flustered the blond was. That stiffened his resolve because if the impulsive shinobi could not do it, nothing would come from this mutual attraction. Opening the door of his room, initially he was shocked to see a portrait upon his bed. Approaching it, he noted that it was a colored version of the sketch that Emiko had done on their mission when she killed Orochimaru. Smiling, the puppet master found a frame and hung the picture up in front of his desk.


	27. Capture!

Greetings! A shoutout to my muses: Asuma, Kushina, and Zetsu_Akatsuki. These three give me some serious inspiration :)  
My current readers might notice a change in the ratings from T to M. This is mostly due to my personal concerns about profanity and in case I ever desire to write a lemon. Rest assured that if I do write such... stuff... there will be warnings so if you desire to skip it, you may.  
Do not forget to R&R. Also check out my profile for more stories and an update poll!  
I do not own Naruto or 'Burnin' for You' by Blue Oyster Cult.

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Chapter 27: Capture!

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Burnin' for You – Blue Oyster Cult  
Reason: Hidan and his love**_

* * *

Emiko woke up feeling warm and snuggly, thanks to the resident Jashinist holding her tightly to his noticeably bare chest. She stared at Hidan's sleeping, peaceful face and smiled. _He looks so innocent…_ Upon feeling her subtle shifting, Hidan's lavender eyes snapped upon and upon locking with hers, he smiled gently.

"Morning." He kissed her forehead and nuzzled her cheek. She sighed contently as she hugged him. They both noticed Kakuzu's bed was unoccupied. "He's most likely getting coffee to prepare for the mission."

Emiko nodded and sighed. "Kimiko said that because of our kekkei genkai, this monthly stuff I suffer through should only last one more day and then I am good for another month. I can survive but damn it hurts." Hidan stroked her cheek before getting up.

"I'll talk to Kakuzu to see if you could stay here while we hunt down our target." Nodding, Emiko smiled as the silver haired man left. She curled under the covers that her and Hidan had laid on top of and drifted back into sleep.

* * *

Kakuzu drank his coffee enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning when Hidan walked in, a small smile on his face, albeit a sleepy one. "She still sleeping?"

"Nah, she woke up. Is it ok for her to sleep while we hunt the first guy down?" The treasurer nodded, preferring to take more time to accomplish the mission than to cause excess annoyance to his teammates. "Cool, she says she has to suffer one more day and she should be good." Kakuzu felt immediate relief at this and his mood perked up.

"Will you be ready in an hour?" Hidan raised an eyebrow at the sarcastic tone.

"I'll take a shower, but in thirty minutes I should be ready." Hidan turned his back on his partner who appeared to be having a heart attack.

Reentering the room, he felt a smile tug at him seeing the kunoichi curled up in a ball. Brushing the hair from her face, he grabbed some clothes and went to take a shower.

* * *

Ten minutes later…

Steam came out the door and upon entering the room, Emiko woke up. The slight increase of humidity frizzed her hair and she grumbled. She looked around for a hairbrush and groaned seeing none. Walking towards the bathroom, she reached for the hairbrush and rolled her eyes seeing the fogged up mirror. After clearing a small space, she retamed her hair and was about to exit when the water abruptly shut off. She froze and dropped her hairbrush. There existed a small portion of her knowing she should escape, but she was overwhelmed with confusion as well as a small but powerful desire to sit there just to see the Jashinist's face. Dashing off to try to curl back under her covers, she jumped only to trip on the hairbrush she had seconds ago dropped. She braced herself for impact when she felt slight moisture around her arms. She turned her head to see Hidan's lavender eyes bore into her eyes. "You ok?"

"Yeah…" At least she was until she noticed Hidan's rippling abs and the fact that when she looked lower, he was naked; towel forgotten on the sink. Emiko did not know how to control the emotions she was going through and tried to focus solely on Hidan's face but that did not help either. She felt a slight drip as blood dripped from her nose and fainted. Hidan was perplexed until he noticed his current state of dress, or rather, undress.

Cursing, Hidan went back to the bathroom and upon reemerging with a towel around his waist, used a hand cloth to clean Emiko's face. She curled instinctively closer to him and chuckling, the Jashinist placed her back on her bed and tucked the sheets around her. He dashed off to the bathroom to resume dressing and once he finished, he noticed that Emiko was snuggled in the bed; warmth in the form of a pillow fortress around her. "How the hell am I going to explain this to you Emiko-chan…?" Hidan muttered as he left a simple note for her.

He left to go downstairs and noticed Kakuzu waiting. "That only took twenty five minutes… Surely hell must be freezing over." Hidan grunted and surveyed his partner.

"She's sleeping so let's hurry." With a muttered 'whatever', Kakuzu led the way to their target.

* * *

Karin pointed to a room in the hotel they were in. It was easy enough for Sasuke to use his Sharingan to knock out the inn's keeper and walking around to find a ninja's chakra was easy seeing as only one person in the whole area did not emit any extraordinary amount of chakra. "Here." Nodding, Sasuke slid the door open and quickly his teammates entered the room with him, Juugo shutting the door quietly. They walked over to the sleeping area and all of them looked at the sleeping kunoichi with apprehension. "The room is enveloped with her chakra…" The others looked at her with mixed expressions.

Suigetsu walked close to the sleeping kunoichi and looked at Sasuke. "Surely even a genin would have sensed us by now. Is she even worth bothering?" All the members wondered until the saw blood staining the covers near her back. Karin panicked and turned Emiko around noticing blood emerging from her back in an almost controlled manner. Before she could take a breath, the bloody wings encircled Karin and held her. Emiko looked at the teenagers around her, red eyes ablaze.

"Who the bloody hell are you all?" She tensed slightly hearing the clink of metal as Suigetsu leveled his giant sword to glare at her. Sasuke's Sharingan was also activated and Juugo was just teetering the edge of activating his curse. Emiko cursed seeing her scythe against the wall, behind Sasuke.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." She looked at him, surveying him before recognition dawned.

"Itachi-san's little brother. Hmm… you seem different than him. Can you cook as well as him?" Sasuke frowned as the tomoe in his eyes began to twirl at ominous speeds.

"You are to lead me to him before you help me to restore the Uchiha clan." Emiko's eyes narrowed and Karin had a scandalized face.

"She is helping you restore your clan Sasuke-kun?" Emiko rubbed her ears fearing the screechy voice made her eardrums bleed. "You know I would assist you right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke ignored him as he approached Emiko. "You are to agree to be my wife and then you shall help me find Itachi." He dodged as a wing released Karin to attempt to strike at him.

"No way; I am a member of Akatsuki now and I will never betray them. They are my friends!" Karin crumpled as Emiko released her; the bloody wings had crushed her arms and a few ribs. Her hands began to move to try a genjutsu but Sasuke managed to hit her in the gut, despite the wings acting as shields.

"Hn… I will not give you a way out."

* * *

Hidan and Kakuzu dragged the first of many of their victims to a bounty hunter station. Kakuzu took the body within to collect the cash while Hidan stayed outside complaining about the putrid smell. He felt an odd sensation, as if his heart had been seized. _Emiko-chan…_

* * *

Twenty minutes later…

Emiko woke up in a cave and unfortunately not alone. She heard the trickling of rain and the rhythmic breathing of the teenagers around her. She swiftly shut her eyes when a voice boomed over her. "I know you're awake already." Grunting, Emiko forced herself into a sitting position. She looked blearily at them and knew that Sasuke had spoken but other than a second long look, he did not acknowledge her. Suigetsu polished a sword in a patient manner that reminded her quite a bit of Kisame. Karin was preparing some herbal stew that made Emiko's nose crinkle at the smell. However, her temper snapped when she saw Juugo.

"Put down my fucking scythe!" He looked at her and then glanced at Sasuke.

"Juugo only listens to me so your words will be wasted trying to convince him otherwise." Emiko's eyes flickered into a deep blood red as her hands curled into fists.

"That scythe is an important present and I will not let you defile it." Sasuke smirked as he walked over to Juugo and held his hand for the scythe. Juugo raised an eyebrow but let Sasuke hold the scythe. Sasuke nearly sagged under the immense weight of the weapon. "Or please do. Just hold the other end of the scythe with your ribs or something to that effect."

"How do you carry this weapon so effortlessly?" She rolled her eyes as her red eyes glared at his.

"My kekkei genkai increases the blood flow in my body. Increased blood flow in my muscles help to give me strength when I need it." She stood up and glared at them. "So you will not let me go?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a glint. "I believe I have made my intentions clear."

Emiko shuddered. "You are a kid compared to me. That is just awkward." She looked at the other ninja and rolled her eyes. "Do you honestly know what you have to do to 'restore your clan'?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Suigetsu chuckled. "It is obvious." Emiko's face hardened.

"You do not find it odd or at least awkward in the slightest because I certainly as hell do." She fidgeted with her hands uncomfortably. "That sort of stuff… you should have affections or be in love. I do not hold those feelings for you. Only one person has my lo…"

"Itachi does not have your love does he?" Emiko gave a small smirk and although seeing Sasuke squirm would be enjoyable, she opted for the answer her heart preferred; honesty.

"No. Someone else does… He is mine and I am his… You will not survive his wrath and even then, I might find a way to resurrect you so I can beat the shit out of you." Inside of her, she could feel Kimiko cheer.

Sasuke glared at her. "So be it; I will make it so that my love is the only love you know." He stood in front of her, the tomoes in his eyes once again whirling.


	28. Was that Supposed to do Something?

1/10/2009  
Greetings everyone! A shoutout to my muses Asuma, Kushina, Zetsu_Akatsuki, and Uchiha_Curse. You four are awesome!

I have uploaded a brand new story: Tobi aka Madara/OC story called "Orange Masks and Chopsticks"

Also, there is a sort of lemony yaoi moment but I put notes when it starts and begins.

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Chapter 28: Was that Supposed to do Something?

_**Song of the Chapter:  
I Don't Wanna Be – Gavin DeGraw  
Reason: Emiko really would prefer to not be with Sasuke; she has another in mind ;)**_

* * *

Emiko blinked watching the tomoe swirl before they eventually stopped. Sasuke looked at her in confusion. "Was that supposed to do something?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he drew away from her, cursing the unusual circumstances. Suigetsu chuckled while Karin was torn between sympathy for Sasuke or joy at him being unable to 'convince' Emiko whilst Juugo sat there impassively. Sasuke then turned back to glare at Emiko. "Why did my genjutsu not work on you?" Emiko laughed at the Uchiha's weakness and smirked at the opportunity to berate him.

"My specialty when not using my kekkei genkai is genjutsu use." She smirked seeing the youngest Uchiha's triumph card being useless. "This is a sad day; the pride of the Uchiha clan failed. You really underperformed there Sasuke." Sasuke's eyes narrowed in anger while Suigetsu burst out laughing.

"You are a fucking riot." Emiko's heart felt a stab of emotional pain at the words. They reminded her of something similar to what Hidan would say. "So Sasuke, have nothing to rebuke the underperformance?" Emiko smirked as the Uchiha left the area to retrieve food while Karin glared at Suigetsu.

"Don't be an asshole to Sasuke-kun," her whiny voice protested. Suigetsu flipped her the bird and leaned against the cave wall opposite the now sleeping Juugo. Karin then glared at Emiko with disdain in her eyes. "And you; don't think that you are good enough for Sasuke-kun." Although the statement was supposed to depress the kunoichi, she instead roared in laughter.

"If I am not good enough for Sasuke and yet he is chasing me, what does that make you? A lowly whore clinging after him?" Suigetsu gave a thumbs up to the Akatsuki member as Karin huffed and plodded over to where Juugo was. "Suigetsu, just let me go. Not like Sasuke is going to miraculously seduce me or something so I have no point in being here."

The watery ninja sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a motion that also reminded her of Suigetsu. "You are entertaining and besides, it is our best interests if you, ehm… associate with Sasuke so to speak." She threw a slight glare at him as she polished her scythe. "If I had any say in the matter, I would let you go. I think the time Sasuke shows love and compassion to anything is a fate I would not force any woman to be a part of." She gave a small laugh before curling into the fetal position and awaiting the return of the Uchiha.

* * *

Hidan and Kakuzu walked into the inn's room and both had looks of pure anger. Kakuzu's irritation was nothing compared to the pure rage Hidan was wrapped up in. Despite being taken rather by surprise, Emiko manipulated the blood from her wings into a message on the bed sheets and when the two men read them, the aura became murderous. "I am going to fucking kill Itachi's prick little brother."

Kakuzu reread the hastily bled note and nodded. "Let's go. We must locate quickly before something bad happens. Itachi's little brother used to be a student of Orochimaru who Emiko-san killed. If we don't do something…"

"Then what the fuck are we waiting for?" The immortal asked as they promptly left the inn, without bothering to pay of course.

* * *

Sasuke came back after about an hour and bringing with him what else but tomatoes. Suigetsu rolled his eyes as he silently ate one. He swore that when the day he no longer worked with Sasuke came, he would never approach the fruit that often was commonly confused as a vegetable. Karin and Juugo were still in a deep slumber. When Sasuke walked towards Emiko, Suigetsu grabbed his wrist. "She is sleeping and most likely would not want to be bothered, least of all by you." Sasuke ignored him and upon pulling his wrist out of Suigetsu's grip, went over to Emiko.

He stiffened seeing her sleeping face. The tear trails were visible and although dried, the fact that they existed twisted Sasuke's heart. He was about to touch her face when she shrank back instinctively. The Uchiha noted her whimpering in her sleep and the body language certainly did not lighten the mood. Stalking away, he bit into the tomato and decided that he, the great avenger of the Uchiha clan would give Suigetsu a rare privilege. "Suigetsu… I need advice."

The silver haired ninja nearly choked on the tomato he was eating and looked at Sasuke with pure shock upon his face. Upon ridding his throat of the irritating wedge of tomato, he stared. "Hell surely must be freezing over; an Uchiha is asking for help." Sasuke rolled his eyes and glared at his companion. "Oh alright, what do you want?"

"How do you make a woman fall in love with you?" Suigetsu's eyes flickered Emiko and his eyes narrowed.

"You really are an idiot. Do you not understand the fact she doesn't love you?" Sasuke stared blankly at him before face palming. "There are some guidelines everyone should follow when it comes to love."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Guidelines?"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes and he looked at him. "They vary depending who you ask but here are the basics. Number one, don't be afraid to show your true self to your love. Secondly, always listen. However the third is the most important; never force a love." With that Suigetsu stood up and laughed when Sasuke grabbed his wrist. "Aww Sasuke-kun," he says in a mocking voice, "you want to come with me while I take a piss?" Sasuke frowned and turned away as the sharp toothed lad walked off chuckling to himself. Sasuke's eyes remained on Emiko's form and that was the last he saw before closing his eyes.

* * *

It was not very often that the blond Akatsuki bomber came into Sasori's puppet workshop because most of the time when he used to, Sasori was tired of artistic insults and threw him out. However, the puppet master was not expecting the door to literally be unhinged when Deidara walked in. The red head turned around with a brow raised. "Yes brat?"

Deidara's eyes narrow hearing Sasori's almost bored tone. "Did you really mean what you did earlier? Because if you were just fucking around, you should at least know that kisses are not something to be tossed about like kunai, un." Sasori stopped his work to turn around and look at his partner.

He smirked seeing Deidara not uncertain like earlier but there was still a flicker of confusion within the blond's visible eye. "What do you think?"

**YAOI LEMON WARNING!**

Deidara strides forward and grabbing a hold of Sasori's hair, yanks his head up to roughly, but passionately kiss him on the lips. Sasori looks surprised but pleased nonetheless. Deidara smirked at the slightly smaller man. "I think I want to be seme." He forces him against the wall as he presses his body against his.

Sasori smirked against the younger man's lips. "You will just have to earn the privilege eh Deidara-kun?" He places his leg around the blond's and applying a little force, makes Deidara stumble backwards as Sasori pivots so that the bomber's back is on the table that thanks to some well used chakra strings, was now clear of debris. Climbing on top of him, Sasori's lips crushed against Deidara's in a searing kiss and when the blond denies his tongue access, the puppet master slightly nips the lower lip causing him to gasp.

**YAOI LEMON ENDED!**

Before the tongue war could truly begin, a knock sounds at the door and reluctantly, the artists move towards the door and upon opening it, decide that killing Tobi is on the agenda.

* * *

Hidan pauses at a cave and points. "I feel her there." Kakuzu nods and as they walk, he sees a maniac glint in Hidan's eye. Walking in, he sees Emiko but when he tries to stride towards her, a fireball rushes towards him but he expertly avoids the blast. "Fucking Uchiha bastard."

Sasuke stands up and looking at the Jashinist smirks upon activating his Sharingan. "As long as you are alive, she won't love anyone else." His hands fly through the hand signs for the Chidori as Kakuzu sneaks past the two fighters.


	29. Losing Everything

Greetings everyone! A shoutout to my muses Asuma, Kushina, Zetsu_Akatsuki, and Uchiha_Curse!  
Please R&R and vote in my update poll - It has been cleared due to a story being complete.  
I do not own Naruto or "Innocence" by Avril Lavigne.

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Chapter 29: Losing Everything

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Innocence – Avril Lavigne  
Reason: When we are safe, we feel a state of happiness that when taken away, can leave one wondering how they survived before.**_

* * *

Emiko smiled sensing two familiar chakras and fixing her gaze on Suigetsu, she stood up. "It is my time to leave." Suigetsu nodded as Kakuzu appeared in front of her.

"You are safe correct?" Emiko nodded as Kakuzu led her out and they witnessed an odd little scene. Hidan had his scythe out and had already drawn the Jashinist symbol upon the ground. Sasuke was unharmed but highly frustrated at the fact that he had already the man with a couple of Chidoris and the attacks had not slowed the immortal down in the slightest. "Hurry up Hidan; we already have Emiko-san."

Hidan smiled at seeing Emiko and faced Sasuke. "Just need to get some of his blood and this will be done." Emiko looked at the two as Sasuke charged with his katana and Hidan swiped with his scythe, both weapons clanking loudly in the air. Hidan smirked as he quickly wrapped the coils of the scythe around Sasuke and drew close until a hand touched his shoulder. He stopped feeling Emiko's soothing presence. "Emiko-chan?"

"You do not need to sacrifice him Hidan-kun. I am safe and they did nothing to me. Come on. I will help you get sacrifices later." She tugged on his sleeve and when he looked into her eyes, his expression softened slightly.

"Fine, but let me do one more thing." She nodded and he withdrew the coils from around the Uchiha's body and clenching his fist, punched him in the face. "Never touch my woman again or I will make sure you are unable to restore the clan." Hidan turned around to Emiko with a smile on his face. "Let's get the fuck out of here; we have to finish this dumb shit of a mission." Emiko laughed as she held his hand. Hidan looked down at her, unused to public displays of affection and although he had a small blush, he gave her a small smile.

"Yeah!" She walked away and Suigetsu emerged out of the cave and looked at Sasuke, trying to hold back a grin at seeing the state of his face.

"Damn you got all messed up!" Sasuke winced touching his nose and feared it might be broken. His jaw bones really did not feel like they were in the best condition. He walked inside and when Karin saw the state of his face, she fainted. Sasuke shook his head and sat down trying to reset his nose despite Suigetsu's comments that he looked better that way.

* * *

Deidara and Sasori groaned hearing their mission and here they were hours into starting the mission. Despite the fact the two were going alone, there was no time to sleep or have 'fun'. They had to retrieve a tailed beast; the one tailed beast Shukaku to be exact. Sasori hardened his heart upon hearing about going to the Sand Village and Deidara was unnerved by the silence between the two of them and the only thing that seemed to rattle the puppet was artistic argument.

Sasori looked at Deidara and sighed. _So close but so far… I cannot afford distractions now…_

* * *

Emiko watched Hidan easily lop the legs off of their next victim and when Kakuzu picks up the man, he looks at the two. "This will take a few moments so stay together and do not get in trouble." They nodded and as soon as Kakuzu left, Hidan walked to Emiko and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close to him. She giggles feeling his chest against her back.

"Hidan-kun?" She craned her neck to look at the Jashinist and together they kiss. Although simple, Emiko feels the passion that Hidan is through it and without breaking the hug he has turns around to place her arms around his neck. Smiling, Hidan deepens the kiss and with his tongue, gently licks Emiko's bottom lip. Emiko is curious and opens her mouth the slightest amount and Hidan slips his tongue in. She moans feeling his tongue stroke her own and the kiss quickly becomes heated. Emiko's eyes darken with emotion as she stares into Hidan's eyes. The man looks at her and breaks the kiss walking away. Emiko follows him in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Emiko-chan… I can't continue. If we do; I'll do something we will both regret." Emiko looks at his eyes and notices how dark they are also. She finally recognizes the emotion.

"With you, I cannot regret it." Hidan swallows the lump that developed in his throat and staring back at the woman in front of him, he knew the emotions in her eyes: love and lust.

"Do you know what you are saying Emiko-chan…?" She nodded and as she hugged him, she scraped her nail down his arm and the Jashinist bit his lip to hold in the moan. "Ok… I assume you do, but I can't just fuck you." She stopped her actions and looked at him.

"I know it will not just be a fuck; just submit to what you want." She was about to begin again when he grabbed her hand.

"Being a Jashinist, I cannot do that act unless I am married." Emiko bit her lip but nodded. She looked at him trying to will away the tears that wanted to form at her eyes.

"Hidan-kun, I understand an immortal like you would never want to be tied down by a mortal like me." She began walking away when she felt his hand grab hers.

"That isn't it, damn it." She looked at him, her tears unwilling to be controlled. They flowed freely down her face. Hidan lowered his face and kissed away her tears. "I just want you to be sure what you are getting into and… proposing on a bounty hunting mission with Kakuzu in toll isn't exactly what I'd call fucking romantic." She cracked a small smile as her tears stopped and she sighed feeling his arms around her.

"Hidan-koi?" He smiled hearing the affectionate suffix and looked down at her. "Is that a promise?" He nodded and leaned his forehead against hers. She sighed feeling him blow air at her right ear.

"I never break my fucking promises and I'll be damned before I break this one." He kissed her forehead and pulled apart seeing Kakuzu approach. "You just one long ass time!"

"I had to… negotiate the price." Emiko sighed knowing that the treasurer was now likely in a terrible mood.

"How many more targets Kakuzu-san?" He gazed at her with his emerald eyes and gave a small smile.

"Three more and we can return to base." Nodding, Hidan and Emiko crowded around Kakuzu who pulled out a map as he pointed to their next destination.

* * *

A week later…

Tobi never felt so sad before. He watched his senpai just stare at the multitude of puppets in the battlefield. He put a comforting hand on Deidara's shoulder but the artist stood up and being armless, simply walked away from the comfort. He walked until he was in front of Sasori's body and sat, just unknowing what to do. Tears poured from his blue eyes and he sighed. Zetsu walked next to him. "**Told you we shouldn't have brought him.** He would have wanted to see Sasori-san; didn't you see how close they were becoming? **Becoming far too attached. What do you think will happen to Hidan when Emiko-san dies?** I… I don't want to think about her dying."

Deidara stopped sobbing and bit his lip. He looked at Tobi and with the most serious tone he had ever had, spoke with him. "I need you to make a hand sign for me Tobi." Tobi jumped up happy to help his senpai. Deidara told him the hand sign and when it was made, Tobi saw a bird flying towards Sasori's body.

"Senpai…" The explosion shook the battlefield and the various body parts of the devastated puppets flew about. The twisted altered bodies burned in odd colors due to the varnishes and odd chemicals that Sasori had used on the bodies. Tobi looked at Deidara's face that was twisted.

"Danna… wait for me in the afterlife and I'll be there in a bang, un." Deidara began to smile manically before Zetsu knocked him out.

"Idiot… **We need to watch him to make sure he doesn't pull any suicidal shit. **Well, he is a bomber and therefore already suicidal. **So we simply have to watch him closer.**" He carries Deidara's armless body as Tobi picks up the arms.

* * *

Emiko sits on the living room couch leaning on Hidan who is currently yelling at anyone and everyone except the kunoichi. She still felt drained doing the tailed beast extraction and Hidan insisted she not do anything excessive. However, he took out any frustrations he had on the other members of the Akatsuki. Itachi just zoned it out thanks to cleverly hidden ear plugs while Kisame was too drunk to notice the ranting. "The fuck is taking blondie and the red haired bastard so long?" She tried to get up but with Hidan's arms around her waist, she falls onto him.

She smirks before kissing him on the cheek. "I need to go to the bathroom." Hidan sighs but lets her up. When she leaves, three people enter. Hidan's eyes widen seeing Deidara's armless state.

"What the fuck happened?" He looks at Tobi who has his arms and notices the ring on Tobi's hand. "Where the hell is Sasori?"

"Dead. **He misjudged his grandmother and the Hokage's apprentice.**" Hidan looks at Deidara who just woke up and sees his red puffy eyes.

"Fuck… I'll be back." He dashes off and knocks on Emiko's door. She opens the door and looks at him with curiosity in her eyes. She tilted her head in confusion and he spoke, "Sasori's dead."

"Oh…" Her head bows forward and she looks Hidan. "How?"

"Fighting after we sealed the demon. He was not thinking right most likely and got killed." She started crying and Hidan held her and rubbed her back trying to calm her down. "What will happen when you and Kakuzu have to fight after sealing another tailed beast and something happens to one of us?"

Hidan bit his lip. _I am immortal but Emiko-koi here…_ He looked down at her and their thoughts seemed to sync immediately. Hand in hand, they walked back to the living room and Emiko saw Deidara. His hands were being painfully sewed back on by Kakuzu but the pain did not seem to reach his eyes. They had a maniac glint but behind that, it was empty like a stone slab. "Emiko-chan, un…" She put her hand on Deidara's shoulder but could not bring herself to smile or say soothing words. "I am glad if anything, you and Hidan know of your love for each other, un." She gave a small smile and brushed his hair out of his forehead. He hummed softly as she began to brush his hair while Kakuzu still sewed up the arm.

"Deidara-kun… Sasori-san would not want you to end your life like that." Deidara's visible eye shot to Emiko and narrowed.

"What do you know, un? I guess it doesn't matter since Danna is dead and his art is proven worthless. He had to go and leave, un." Emiko looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

"His art was proved wrong so prove your own art wrong by living a long life." Deidara scoffed and stood up, finally flexing his now sewed up arms.

"I have too much pride as an artist to abandon my art for someone, un!" Emiko's eyes hardened as she walked away from him. She stopped when Hidan put an arm around her shoulders.

"Deidara-kun, if you are letting your pride as an artist get in the way, you never really loved Sasori-san." She looked at Pein who came out with Konan talking to him. The orange haired man stopped and looked at her with his ringed eyes as Emiko bowed. "Me and Hidan-koi will be gone, but we shall return tomorrow."

"Take the week off. You two look like you have been through a lot. And you got kidnapped by Itachi's little brother too. Being forced to bear company with an Uchiha must have been trying." Itachi glared at Pein while Emiko was surprised at her leader's generosity.

"Thank you so much Leader-sama!" Now having permission, she pulls Hidan out of the living room and when they stopped at their rooms, they picked up a couple of backpacks. Meeting back in the hallway, Hidan holds her hand as they walk out together. Tobi sees them but says nothing as he smiles behind his mask.

He walks to the living room and asks, "Where do you think they are going?"

* * *

An hour later…

He held her hand as they stood in front of a temple. He was all too ready but as for her… "Are you sure?"

Emiko rolls her eyes as she kisses his cheek. "How many damn times are you going to ask me that? Yes I am sure!" He grins as they enter.

* * *

Atsushi threw a kunai at Sasuke and it narrowly missed his head. "What the fuck do you mean you didn't get her?"

Suigetsu smirked. "I believe that the hidden meaning behind the statement is that Emiko was not retrieved." Atsushi snarled and was about punch Suigetsu when Sasuke had his hand on the old man's wrist.

"You will not hurt him." The man narrowed his eyes as the two teens walked out of the room.

"Only a matter of time before the Leaf Village captures Emiko then we make the trade; Uchiha for a Fushigi."


	30. Negotiation

Greetings everyone! A shoutout to my muses Asuma, Kushina, Zetsu_Akatsuki, Uchiha_Curse, and Konan!  
Please R&R and vote in my update poll.  
I do not own Naruto or "Hot in Herre" by Nelly

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Chapter 30: Negotiation

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Hot in Herre – Nelly  
Reason: Lemon :)**_

**_Yes there is a lemon :D It is only my second one so please be nice._**

* * *

Emiko and Hidan stood in front of each other and while both said they were ready, both had some signs of nervousness. Hidan held her hand as he gently placed the ring onto her finger. She grinned and placed her arms around his neck as she pulled him closer for a kiss. The monk that married them together cheered as the Jashinist pulled the kunoichi closer to his body and deepened the kiss. There were few people who passed by witnessed the ceremony, but did not know that they witnessed the union of two Akatsuki members. Hidan was all laughs as he led his new wife through the small village. "Well…"

She leaned into his arm with a smile and looked into his lavender eyes. "We are finally a couple." He had an arm around her as they walked into a restaurant. Everyone stared hungrily at the couple until they noticed the simple wedding bands that Hidan had obtained. A steel ring with a diamond in the middle may have been far from traditional but to Hidan, it was more about symbolism.

Sitting down at a traditional place, he ordered chicken teriyaki while she ordered beef. When the dishes came, they shared. Emiko bit her lip noticing how quiet Hidan was despite their quiet afternoon wedding. Hidan had not told her what plans he had for them for the week of vacation they received so she sighed. He looked up at smiled. "What's wrong?"

"You are so quiet." He paid for their meal and they began to walk off towards the forest. She raised an eyebrow now. _We are sleeping in the forest when he has money to spend on a hotel?_ "Hidan-koi?"

"I have to do a ritual before we start any… interactions. Getting chased out of a fucking hotel room after my ritual doesn't sound like fun and has no hint of romance." She held his hand as they approached the trail.

"Makes sense." She looked around and Hidan seemed to make double the preparation than usual by packing more weapons than Emiko thought he owned. "Are you going to sacrifice someone?"

He shook his head. "This is a ritual we both participate in, but I'm the only one who will get hurt. I am immortal after all." Emiko stopped and looked at him.

"How am I going to participate in this ritual?" _Is that his way of saying he wants to have sex?_

"Offer ourselves or rather myself up to Jashin-sama through pain." Emiko nodded and when Hidan stopped, she sat in the grassy glade. For some reason, the thought of Hidan, naked and bleeding was a thought that was beginning to make her face red. "You can help inflict some of the pain Emiko-koi."

She smirked and laughed as she hugged his arm. "I plan to do more than that." He raised a silvery eyebrow.

"Damn it; now I am curious." She laughed as Hidan shed the civilian shirt and although he was not naked, his shirtless state definitely made Emiko's heart beat faster. He pulled out a kunai and hissed in masochist pleasure as the blood made a trail trailed from his wrist the ground below. Using his shinobi sandal, he began to trace the Jashin symbol in the dirt as Emiko watching. She noticed that this symbol was larger than normal. He finished and looked up at her. "Come here inside the symbol now."

Cautiously, she took Hidan's outstretched hands in hers as she walked in. The air around the symbol even felt different than normal everyday air. Goosebumps erupted on her arms but thankfully the Jashinist did not notice. He gave her the kunai and closed his eyes awaiting the cuts. Emiko looked at him and the kunai in her hands before she dropped it. Hidan's eyes snapped open hearing the metal weapon clink onto the ground. Before he could do anything, he saw her eyes take on a crimson hue as she placed her fingertips on the wound Hidan inflicted on himself. "I have a better idea my koi."

Hidan bit his lip as he felt more blood pour from the wrist wound. She flickered random parts of his arm with her other finger and pin pricks of blood leaked out. Although small, somehow the wounds were more painful than most of the larger wounds that in the past he had inflicted on himself. "How do those smaller wounds hurt?"

She smirked and stopped. Hidan groaned at the loss of the sensation and she smirked. "Well… because I force the blood to come out and wound you; no natural blood flow here." Her fingertips hovered above a new pricking wound she had created and Hidan hissed feeling the blood being drawn and hovering in the air. She gazed at him and came closer to him. When he wrapped his arms around her, she hummed contently feeling the warmth from his body. She placed her hand on his chest and felt the blood almost abruptly change direction. She felt something and looked at him. "Well… you really did not need my help did you?"

A slight blush erupted on his face as he began to nuzzle her cheek. "When I have such a beautiful wife with me who is able to cause me such exquisite pain… I really don't need any more help loving you." He began to kiss her slowly and soon the kiss shot to the next level when Hidan licked her lower lip. Allowing him permission, she opened her mouth slightly but was unwilling to let Hidan ravish her mouth without a fight. She began to battle him for dominance and the Jashinist's animalistic growl let her know he approved. He won however when the hand that was not cradling her head ran down the side of her body and began to trace circles on her hip.

"Mmmm… Hidan…" She gave up the war of tongues and as a prize, allowed him to explore her mouth which he did slowly as if cherishing her taste. His hand, the right, that was tracing the circles went lower and lower. Emiko's eyes widened knowing that he was trying to get under the dress she currently was wearing and she felt a rush of heat that overwhelmed her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he held her, groaning at the contact of their clothed abdomens.

"We… need to consummate the ritual…" she smirked at him and ran her hands down his chest as he laid her gently to the ground. "But this isn't just for Jashin-sama's fucking pleasure. Making love to you is a pleasure that I want to savor and remember as more than just his will. I want to make you feel like you went to heaven." He ran his hand under her dress and rubbed slowly between at the junction between her legs.

"Ahhh… stop torturing me!" He grinned and that made her eyes darken. "Then I will turn the tide on you." He hissed in blissful torture as she placed her hand on his clothed length. She rubbed him and smirked seeing the Jashinist's expressive nature.

When Hidan saw her expression, he felt himself grow even harder and her hand certainly did not make things easier. "Fuck…" She raised an eyebrow and when she stopped and was about to withdraw her hand, he grabbed her wrist. "Emiko… now I'm horny as hell."

**LEMON!**

He smiled and guided his hands to the back of her dress. He zipped down the white sundress that had served its purpose as a wedding dress for the ceremony and marveled at her. She was not wearing a bra having bound herself like many kunoichi but still the sight of her breasts sent even more blood rushing south. He caressed her through the wrapping and she moaned at his skillful touch. "You haven't done this before have you?"

He looked at her serious in the eye before capturing her lips. "I have never found anyone that I wanted to perform this most sacred act and tender with." She smiled as he held her hand. She took his hands and led them to the part where the end of her bindings was. He gripped the edge carefully and slowly, but temptingly as he kissed her while he was unwrapping her. When she was free, she gasped feeling the cold air make contact with her now heated skin. Hidan started to kiss her neck and she moaned and bent her head the other way to give him more access to the sensitive skin. He nipped gently and she grasped at the ground beneath them in pleasure.

"Hi…dan!" She nearly bit through her lip when his mouth traveled lower and when he saw her breasts, decided they needed attending to. He blew air gently on them and loved the feeling of her arching beneath him. He kneaded her gently and her moans sounded like music to his ears. He needed her soon or else…

Emiko was wrapped up in sheer bliss but knew that Hidan had to be in pain being unable to feel all the pleasure and so she put her hands onto the waistband of his pants and looked him in the eye. He nodded and she pulled his pants off of him and when his boxers were off, she gently stroked his manhood. He hissed and threw his head back as she continued while climbing on top of him. Her underwear was the only thing separating them from the final moment. He looked at her before slipping if off of her. He took a brief glance at her. "Emiko… I should prepare you so that it won't hurt you."

She shook her head and looked into his eyes. "Do it now. I want to feel all the feelings you give me and I am certain the pleasure will override any pain." Having her consent, he laid her on the ground in the middle of the Jashin symbol and kissed her while he slowly pushed himself into her walls. Hidan could see the small tears form in her eyes and paused to allow her to adjust to his size. "Move…" He obliged and began to push himself into her and felt a tightening around him when Emiko moaned loudly. "Please faster."

Hidan felt like he was going to lose himself in the warmth that surrounded his member as he picked up his pace. She gasped and Hidan felt her nails tear rivets into the flesh of his back. The pain spurred him on and he gave a last hard thrust and Emiko screamed his name as she felt her first orgasm. Her muscles clenched Hidan's length and he shouted as he came. For a few moments he held her and massaged her shoulders as he slid out.

**END LEMON!**

"Damn… that was so…"

"Good, mmm…" She kissed him and he picked her up.

"We need to cleanse our bodies now. We cannot be found vulnerable." She nodded as she took his hand and they walked together to the small creek that they had located earlier.

* * *

Tsunade frowned as she looked over possible shinobi for the mission. Shikamaru would be useful as he could capture the prey but they could require someone to track… A Hyuga perhaps or maybe Kiba… She groaned and hastily wrote a quick list to Shizune. "Get these four ninja here." Her assistant nodded and Tsunade stared down the scroll that a silver haired medic had brought her. _I wonder what their plans for the Blood Princess are…?_


	31. Vacation Cut Short

Greetings readers! A shoutout to my muses Asuma, Kushina, Zetsu_Akatsuki, Uchiha_Curse, and Konan!  
Please R&R and check out my profile for more stories and an update poll.  
I do not own Naruto or "Blood" by Papa Roach.

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Please note... there is another lemon in this chapter but I have posted warnings.

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Chapter 31: Vacation Cut Short

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Blood – Papa Roach  
Reason: Sasuke's betrayal of the Leaf Village may cost Emiko and Hidan their relationship.**_

* * *

To Emiko, waking up in Hidan's arms was the equivalent to heaven. Their hotel room was cold so with the both of them wrapped in a blanket, he held her close to him. His chin rested on top of her head and both his arms were around her. He lazily opened up a lavender eye feeling her move. "Good morning."

She kissed him briefly on the lips before she slipped out of his reach. She felt the fabric of her red nightgown ride up slightly and she could feel Hidan's jaw drop. "It is only underwear silly. Not like I am wearing a thong or anything." He still looked like a gaping fish and she looked down at herself. She saw his eyes look up and down her in appreciation.

"You're so beautiful I can't believe you married a fucker like me." She walked back towards him and gave him a soft kiss. "Hot damn…"

"I am going to take a shower. Are you going to do a ritual?" He nodded and gathered his rosary. She walked into the bathroom and gasped seeing a love bite on her neck but she smirked. _At least I am not the only one with one._

* * *

Hidan loved waking up with Emiko curled up in his arms and her warmth was all he could think of during his ritual. A couple stabs to the heart later and Jashin appeared before him. "My loyal follower… how goes the marriage?"

Hidan had a wide grin as he exclaimed, "So fucking awesome… I love her Jashin-sama so much." Jashin smiled but looked serious as he gazed at the silvery haired man.

"Just remember Hidan, she is a mortal." Before Hidan could question his god, Jashin vanished. Hidan looked down at himself and sighed seeing all the blood; he needed to get clean, but he could not walk through the hotel with the blood remaining from his ritual. He made the hand signs to teleport into a nice warm shower; surely Emiko had to be done by now…

* * *

Emiko had just barely started her shower; she still was not used to the idea of how wonderful being married to Hidan was: she was treated the best by him, he was cautious and gentle with her, and him being a very jealous bastard was a turn on for her. She sighed as she began to peel off her clothes. She collected the garments into a neat little pile as she stepped into the shower. Immediately she turned on the hot water to an almost unbearable heat. She hissed feeling prickling sensations her skin gave off; she felt like a lobster cooking herself but the heat relaxed and soothed her. A poof interrupted her almost content humming state and opening her eyes, she almost screamed in surprise and shoved the intruder into the shower knobs. "FUCK! What was that for?" He looked at her before facepalming. "Shit… I didn't mean to teleport into the shower… you aren't done by the way?" She rolled her eyes before taking his cloak off of him.

"Idiot… I barely got in. However, since you are here…" Hidan looked at her eyes and smirked.

**LEMON!**

It did not take much more prodding for Hidan to get out of his clothes. The kunoichi ran her hands down his chest and he threw his head back at the combined sensations of her touch and the extreme heat scalding his back. He crashed his lips to hers and she responded eagerly. She felt his tongue gently trace her lips and she parted them so that the muscle could enter. "Hidan…" she moaned and he felt his blood rush south.

His mouth nipped at her ear which both irritated and pleased the kunoichi. "Seriously, you are so fucking intoxicating." He nibbled at her neck and her fingertips feathertouched his back and although they did not pierce his skin, he felt cuts being formed from her kekkei genkai. "By Jashin-sama that fucking kekkei genkai…"

She bit his lip as they kissed and she sucked on his lip drawing more blood out with that action and her kekkei genkai drew out a pleasurable groan from the man. His eyes locked with her and at that moment, they understood each other. Her right hand trailed from his back to his length. His eyes were thrown open in delight as she stroked his member gently. "You had your fun now Hidan." She pressed him against the bathroom wall and feeling the cold tile on his heated flesh made his eyes blaze.

"Slow and easy or hard and fast?" She nodded at the last option and he set her against the wall as he began to pound into her. Her moans egged him on as he continued his actions and she arched her back against the shower tiles as her inner walls tightened around Hidan's member. As she fell into the blissful orgasm, Hidan thrusted a couple more times before releasing shouting her name. He slowly pulled out and held her in his arms as the water poured over them.

**END LEMON!**

Emiko kissed him and grabbed a sponge with the intent to scrub Hidan's back free of the blood when they heard a rather angry and aggravated shout that appeared to come to the room next to them. "What the hell? Keep it down you horny fuckers!" Emiko's eyes widened as she looked Hidan in the eye.

"Was it just me or did that voice sound familiar…" Hidan was in contemplative thought as she gently cleaned his back.

"Yeah it did… that was Kisame's voice." They looked at each other before groaning. "Don't worry Emiko-koi; we won't let those bastards ruin our little vacation."

* * *

Shikamaru, Neji, Naruto, and Sakura were all gathered together for the exclusive purpose of obtaining Akatsuki member Emiko Fushigi. The small village they were in was where two Akatsuki members, Kisame and Itachi were last spotted. They arrived to see a quiet village and Naruto groaned. "I don't see anyone that looks even slightly evil." Sakura sighed as the only commotion was around the few restaurants in the area.

"We might as well find something here to eat. Our target will be difficult to find… Hard to believe that Orochimaru's replacement wants that lady who cast that genjutsu on you Naruto." The blond ninja nodded as they went to eat. They picked a simple ramen stand and sat in this order left to right: Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Neji. Neji was at the end of the stand while Naruto was sitting next to a silver haired man.

"Ugh… we need to hurry before Itachi and Kisame find us," the man muttered to the woman next to him. Everyone's ears perked hearing the mentioning of the two S rank shinobi. Naruto peeked around the silver haired man to see a familiar face. The woman who casted but also lifted that genjutsu was sitting next to him, her hand in his.

"Hidan-kun, shush. You are loud you know." He snorted as he took another slurp of his ramen. "Besides, I feel at the moment our comrades are the least of our worries." Hidan smirked at kissed her on the cheek.

"Yeah… I've got an idea; let's go to that one bridge by the Cherry Blossom Creek. I heard it was beautiful there. Just the place for our honeymoon eh Emiko-chan?" She laughed as he passed over money to the vendor. He held her hand and as they walked away, the Leaf shinobi scarfed down their ramen.

Shikamaru looked at the ramen vendor. "How much does all this cost?"

The vendor shook his head and refused Shikamaru's change. "No payment is necessary; that couple paid for your meals." Neji's brow furrowed as he looked at his teammates.

"Where is this bridge they were talking about?" he asked the vendor.

* * *

Hidan and Emiko laughed as they reclined on the railing of the bridge. Her Akatsuki robe billowed in the slight breeze while Hidan tugged irritably at the shirt she forced him to wear underneath his robes. "Do I have to wear this damn thing Emiko-koi?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yes because I do not want anyone drooling over you and I do not want to be tempted when there are other issues to be addressed." He smiled as she kissed him softly.

"Eww… we did not come this way to see you guys make out." Emiko smiled at the orange clad ninja while Hidan scoffed.

"Exactly what is it that you dropped those hints at us for?" Shikamaru asked while Hidan shrugged.

Emiko smiled as she played with her scythe. "It is obvious you are looking for someone. Exactly who is what I am inquiring." Sakura stepped closer to her and while her companions worried about her, she smiled.

"You won't hurt us will you?" Hidan looked irritated while Emiko said nothing, merely holding Hidan's hand in a silent attempt to get him to do nothing. "You did release Naruto from that genjutsu you placed over him so you can't be that bad." Hidan raised an eyebrow while she shrugged.

"Why would I want to possibly damage a demon container? It is against our goals after all." Hidan nodded thoughtfully as Sakura furrowed her brow.

"Not just that reasoning, but you really don't seem like a bad person; how did you get in the Akatsuki?" Hidan was about to retort when Emiko squeezed his hand.

"I killed that bastard Orochimaru." The Leaf ninjas' eyes widened.

"I heard that Sasuke had killed him," Neji mused softly.

Emiko's eyes darkened and this time, it was Hidan holding her back from angrily retorting. She bit her lip and managed to calm down. "So the Uchiha brat is claiming he did it…? Hidan-kun next time we see him, you have my permission to punch him in the face again." Sakura's eyes widened.

"You saw Sasuke-kun and he punched him?" Hidan laughed while Emiko sighed.

"Yes; the inconsiderate prick kidnapped me with the intent to have me betray my friend Itachi-san and he wanted me to help him restore the clan… pathetic disregarding the feelings I have for Hidan-kun, but now he cannot go near me." Seeing Sakura's face she laughed. "I assume this is about him?" Naruto nodded and eagerly sat in front of them.

"Yeah! We need to gets Sasuke-teme back!" She smiled and looked at them.

"So… how can we help?" They looked at her shocked.

Sakura bit her lip wondering how best to state the deal. "Well… Tsunade sent us here to retrieve you as an exchange." Her eyes narrowed and Hidan had an arm protectively around her. "Some guy named Atsushi took Orochimaru's place and wants to make an exchange; you, Emiko-san for Sasuke-kun."

Emiko looked away but Hidan did notice the look in her eyes and brought his hand up to her chin. He stared into her eyes, soft with compassion yet hard in determination. "You aren't actually thinking of agreeing with this shitty deal are you?" Emiko sighed and her eyes closed in contemplation.

"I do not see the harm in helping them…" Hidan glared at the Leaf shinobi before embracing his wife.

"They are the enemy Emiko-koi. I don't want to lose you for some shit like this." He leaned his forehead against hers. "It's fucking hard enough I have to lose you when you eventually die but what if something happens and we can't retrieve you or worse…" his swallows the lump that has developed in his through as he looks at her. "What if you decide to become one of those Leaf shinobi and have you forgotten about that fucktard Atsushi? Last time I checked, the psycho geezer wanted to marry you." He was about to rant and rave more when she pressed a single finger against his lips.

"If you cannot rescue me, I will escape. He cannot keep me there of my own free will. I will always come back to you Hidan-koi. You know that." He looked at her and sighed.

"You were going to go with them even if I didn't let you…" She said nothing and looked into his eyes in an attempt to convey emotions that mere words could not. He touched the side of his cheek but he turned away. "Go with them if you want to." The cold tone in his voice was like ice and she flinched.

He began to walk away when Emiko wrapped her arms around him. He stopped but did not return the gesture. "Hidan-koi I promise… I will come back or be damned trying." He turned around and slowly bent his neck to capture her in a swift, but passion filled kiss. Pulling awake his lavender eyes stared straight into her shimmering orbs.

"I will wait for you so don't take too long." She nodded and he turned around. As he began walking away, his head turned momentarily. "And you will owe me a second honeymoon." She laughed as he walked off. Soon she was alone and when she finished wiping her eyes with her robe sleeve, she looked at them.

"What now…?" Sakura brought out chakra robes.

"We have to bind you with these and bring you back to Tsunade-shishou." She nodded and feeling the chakra ropes on her wrists, she hissed with pain. The ropes tightened themselves almost instinctively around her wrists and burned. Emiko fell down in pain and Sakura barely caught her, pink eyebrows knotting together in confusion. "I don't understand why this is happening." Emiko's eyes flashed red before she collapsed.


	32. Fragile

Greetings everyone! A shoutout to my muses Asuma, Kushina, Zetsu_Akatsuki, Uchiha_Curse, and Konan!  
Please R&R and check out my profile for more stories and an update poll.  
I do not own Naruto or "Rawkfist" by Thousand Foot Krutch.

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* * *

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Chapter 32: Fragile

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Rawkfist – Thousand Foot Krutch  
Reason: The little things called promises and negotiations merely strangle one's freedom when all we want is to be free. Fighting for one's freedom is definitely worth the effort.**_

* * *

Emiko blinked at the Hokage before rolling her eyes. "I agreed to be used in exchange but not to give out Akatsuki secrets; not that I know any." Tsunade sighed and reached for her sake bottle. "And I do not drink alcohol so do not even attempt it."

"This isn't for you girl." Tsunade poured herself the drink while the other underage shinobi watched and sweatdropped. "So… you are agreeing to the exchange why?"

"I have talked to Sasuke before. I am curious as to why the Leaf Village is willing to go to such lengths to obtain that asshole." Tsunade had a small smile as she really did not like Sasuke either merely based on his arrogance. "He necessarily is not bad… but he defiantly has been corrupted."

The Hokage took a sip of sake. "Why is it that Orochimaru's replacement, Atsushi, desires you so much to enlist the help of an enemy?" Emiko's eyes narrowed and her fists clenched noticeably. A killing intent filled the room and Tsunade felt like she was drowning in waves. She looked towards the younger shinobi and their eyes were wide open in fear. Even Naruto who had been on the receiving end of killing intent, including Shukaku's, looked like he was about to wet himself in horror. "Your power Emiko, please control it." Emiko's eyes widened before she looked down.

"Sorry; I cannot control this hatred of mine. Atsushi intends to have me as a wife, with or without my consent. However, in the past I was in love and now," she smirked and her eyes darkened with malevolent pleasure, "I am married so he cannot take me without going against clan law."

Tsunade nodded and left her sake cup alone. "So you are willing to trick Atsushi why?"

Emiko had to bite her lip to control the killing intent that was drowning her internally. "Because he dared to hurt the one I love."

* * *

Locating Kisame and Itachi was not difficult even for Hidan. With their disguised chakra, Hidan could still feel the power of Kisame that oozed slowly and begged to not have to be concealed. Besides, finding a giant blue man with a huge sword really did not take talent. "Hidan, what are you doing here and where the hell is Emiko-chan?" the blue man asked.

Hidan rubbed his temples and when he looked at the duo, they looked concerned at the sadness in Hidan's eyes. "Emiko-chan is in the custody of the Leaf shinobi." Itachi's eyes widened and he pinned Hidan to the wall of a nearby building. People passing by scattered at the thought of a potential fight and Kisame thanked the powers above that they were not in a shinobi village.

"What happened with Emiko-san and do not dare leave out any details." Itachi's eyes blazed with anger and sadness that Kisame rarely saw the prodigy display.

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Look, I just want to get my wife back alright so we need to head to the Sound Village and kill Atsushi before he does anything to her."

This time, Kisame was the one who pinned Hidan angrily to the wall. "You and Emiko-chan are married?!"

"Yes and you really ruined a nice moment we had earlier."

* * *

Sasuke frowned as he sat across from Kabuto and Atsushi at a very small table. "What is this about?"

"Since you failed to capture the Blood Princess, you have to cooperate now." The Uchiha stood up and glared at them.

"You are lucky I even cooperated thus far and you know what, screw this." Sasuke stood up and barely touched the door of the room when his body froze. His eyes were unable to slip into his Sharingan but he noticed an odd silvery chain on both of his arms. "What the hell did you do to me?"

Atsushi made a hand sign and Sasuke collapsed on the floor twitching. "Ensured your cooperation." A knock at the door made his eyes perk up. Kabuto went to the door and after moving Sasuke away from the entrance, he opened it to reveal Lee.

"I have been given this message to give to Atsushi; it details the Leaf Village's response to your offer regarding Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha heard his name and managed to wiggle hitting the wall and thus drawing Lee's attention. "Sasuke-kun, we will get you out of here."

Atsushi smirked scanning the scroll and handed another one to the green clad ninja. "Here you go and please make haste."

Lee nodded and tucked the scroll inside his vest. "I am one of the fastest shinobi out there."

* * *

The next day…

Emiko surveyed her escort team, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai with a critical eye. She may have been new to the ninja thing compared to these shinobi but still… "You three fight more than my teammates."

Sakura looked at her as she had just punched both Naruto and Sai into a tree. Kakashi was doing his best to stay out of their business and was indulging himself in one of his favorite novels. "Emiko-san… you work with the Akatsuki right?"

She nodded and smiled. "But I am not telling you more than necessary for this little mission to get your friend." She sighed and looked at her ring. Kakashi's eyes caught a small smile that she had seeing the reminder of her status.

"A diamond set in steel? That is not traditional." She smiled as Sakura looked at the ring.

"My love is not traditional in the slightest bit." Kakashi nodded and returned to his book. Emiko wondered what was so captivating about the novel and tried to snatch it but Kakashi kept it out of her grasp. "What is that book?"

Naruto and Sakura's faces became panicked. The medic pulled her away. "That is practically porn; don't read it."

"Yeah; the pervy sage writes this sort of stuff and people like you shouldn't read it." Emiko tilted her head and looked at the two younger ninja.

"What kind of person am I?" Sai gave a smile as he looked at her.

"Well judging by your eyes, I could say innocent but there is something about you…" Emiko raised an eyebrow while she caught an orange object rushing towards her. She looked over the object to discover it was a book similar to the one that Kakashi was reading.

"That is the very first in the series; start off with that." She nodded and eagerly flipped to the first page. Naruto tried to seize the book away but she merely sidestepped him and tripped him.

"Don't read that; reading that erotica is going to make you think impure things." She laughed as she buried her nose in the book.

"How cute; you think I am pure." At this, the others stared at her and Kakashi gave a chuckle.

* * *

Hidan groaned as Kakuzu met them at a predetermined area. "I leave you for a little bit and you get her kidnapped."

"She fucking went with them; some noble shit. No matter what we are or the fact in Akatsuki can't change her entirely." Itachi's eyes narrowed and he looked away but the only one who caught the gesture was Kisame.

"She met with Sasuke before correct?" Kisame inquired and Hidan nodded.

"She said that prick wanted her for clan restoration shit and something about finding Itachi." The oldest Uchiha nodded and glanced towards Hidan.

"Why do you believe she would want to help my foolish little brother?" Hidan smiled sadly as he looked towards the horizon.

"She is a good person Itachi; a decent person and she would help anyone." He fingered his rosary gently and gripped it as it was almost time for prayer. "She married me after all and I thought I would find no one to make me so happy, if only for a short time. And the fact she loves me back…" Hidan's eyes fell into a dreamy state as he raised his rosary to his lips in prayer.

Kakuzu looked at the village they were rapidly approaching. "Get ready; we strike at nightfall."

* * *

Emiko looked at the skylight fading and smiled. "Can I just relax for a moment?" Kakashi nodded knowing she would not run away; something in her eyes told him so.

"Sure; just come back in half an hour or we will look for you." She nodded at the Copy Ninja's words and took off.

She walked a little off the path and found a small clearing. She took a kunai out from her robes and slit her wrist carefully. She put her foot in the blood and began to draw a symbol around her.

* * *

Two hours later…

Atsushi smirked seeing the party of Leaf shinobi with Emiko. The silver haired ninja he had heard from reputation but the others… Atsushi had indeed heard of the exploits of the pink haired medic, Sakura Haruno, the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage. Naruto Uzumaki was also one he had heard about both in terms of the boy's power and abilities. The other shinobi, a pale black haired boy who looked vaguely similar to Sasuke the old man had no clue about. He turned towards his prize and smiled seeing her face despite the fact her eyes were narrowed to near slit-like proportions. "My dear Emiko-chan; looking beautiful as always."

Her eyes darkened seeing him. "Piss off and where is the Uchiha? I thought even snakes like you could keep a simple deal."

Atsushi nodded and Kabuto brought in Sasuke who had his arms bound by silvery chakra. Emiko bit her lip seeing his condition. Behind Kabuto was Team Hawk; Karin fussed over how Sasuke was treated, Juugo following quietly, and Suigetsu complaining the whole time until he saw Emiko. "Emiko-san!" he waved and she gave a small smile in response.

At the same time, Juugo carried Sasuke as the rest of his team followed to the Leaf shinobi just as Emiko walked over to Atsushi. The old man smirked seeing the woman glared at him and he dutifully released Sasuke from the jutsu binding him but the Uchiha still suffered from a chakra drainage. He lifted up her chin and sneered. "You best wipe that look off your face my soon to be wife."

She recoiled and backhanded him. He growled feeling the cuts inflicted on his face but his eyes widened feeling two cuts. His gaze fell to her hand and his eyes widened. "Yeah I am married now you asshole so leave me alone." His eyebrow rose at her profanity but he quickly disregarded it.

"I simply have to kill your husband and then you are free." Her laughter did not ease everyone else who not only heard the sound, but felt pure undiluted hatred in the form of killing intent.

"It is not that simple. One he is immortal and two," Atsushi tensed feeling a blade, or rather three of them pressed against his throat, "we are not Akatsuki for nothing."


	33. Steel Determination and Diamond Eyes

2/1/2010  
Wow it has been a long time and for that I am sorry...  
But... Now if you have not heard, I am now engaged 3 so things are busy with me searching for a job and with school.  
I swear I am going to try to update this and other fictions more often TT_TT

I love you all! 3

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Chapter 33: Steel Determination and Diamond Eyes**

_**Song of the Chapter:  
Hero – Skillet  
Reason: We all need that hero within us no matter who we are or the reason**_

* * *

*poof*

Before anyone could blink, Atsushi was replaced by a log and immediately all the ninjas in the area tensed up. Emiko narrowed her eyes and held out a kunai. She smirked for a moment at Hidan before barking orders to the Leaf shinobi. "Stay alert! He is a highly dangerous rogue ninja plus he has a seal. I can sense it!"

Sakura's pink hair swished around as she rapidly whipped her head backwards and did a rolling kick towards a random ninja that approached her. "We have company Emiko-san!"

She frowned and nipped her thumb. Small droplets of blood became visible and her eyes glowed for a moment to allow her to concentrate her power. "Small fry; do not hesitate and do not bother wasting your chakra on them. Focus on Atsushi!"

Naruto laughed and began to launch himself at the ninja. "Shadow Clone jutsu!" With a vast series of poofs, twenty more Narutos joined the fray. "Leave them to me Sakura-chan. Find that one guy so we can get the hell outta here."

Sakura tried to close her eyes to concentrate her chakra but suddenly winced. Emiko noticed her momentary pain and looked towards the kunoichi. "What is the matter?"

"I'm getting an interference of power." She shivered as a voice pounded into all their minds.

"You Leaf ninja have to complicate matters impossibly don't you? Even that Orochimaru bastard made things more complicated than he should have. It's all simple you see… we give you the Uchiha and you hand over the Fushigi heir. What is so difficult about that?" Emiko nodded at Sakura who punched below them exposing Atsushi who had a red tinted shield around him.

"Atsushi, I will not be denied the pleasure of ending your existence!" With that, Emiko charged towards him while her blood droplets hardened into a red katana. Atsushi frowned as his red shield shimmered upon impact. "Can your measly blood barrier be enough to fend off my kekkei genkai? I am much stronger and younger than you Atsushi and I will not be denied my vengeance!"

With a smirk, the shield dissipated and Emiko slashed through it only to be confronted by a log; now covered in blood. "So pathetic… The Fushigi heir is more foolish than I previously imagined… to fall prey to such a low leveled jutsu…" Emiko flinched feeling a familiar presence behind her and the cold steel of kunai against her neck. "I have decided you are not what I desire anymore… but I cannot tolerate your weakness disgracing what our ancestors worked hard to achieve. Say goodbye to your life." He pressed the cold blade against her neck to slice the flesh open but the skin barely peeled and the kunai was denied further movement. "What is this magic?"

The blood heir smirked and leaned into the cold touch of the weapon; this time allowing the blade to be bathed in her blood. "Not magic… merely my kekkei genkai… and you will die this time!" She closed her eyes and the blood from the kunai leapt upon Atsushi causing him to release the weapon and recoil back in disgust.

"Why is it burning?" Emiko looked back to notice the other ninja and felt liberated. She walked away from Atsushi who was being suffocated by the bloody mass surrounding him to survey the area. Suigetsu was smirking and mocking Karin but surprisingly they were making a good team in taking down the foes. Juugo and Sasuke were on the other side of the field clearing a path for the Leaf shinobi and protecting them.

"Emiko-san!" Her eyes flickered towards Sakura and she hurried to her. "Naruto's having a hard time breathing!" Emiko bit her lip and felt the young man's chest.

"Blood is clogging into his lungs. Do you lack the chakra to clear it right now?" Sakura looked away for a moment and sadly nodded. Emiko smiled softly and gently placed a hand on Naruto's chest and whispered a few soft words. "I was taught this by Kakuzu-san."

Naruto coughed a few times and fainted but thankfully was alive. Before Emiko could stand up, she felt arms around her. "That fucker Atsushi's body wasn't there anymore" Emiko quickly slipped out of Hidan's grip and ran back to the battlefield. Hidan sighed and looked at the young medic. "I wish she wasn't put through this hell… she deserves better in more ways than one. Damn this world."

Sakura looked at the various Akatsuki who were searching the area in a similar manner as Emiko. "Are we going to fight again? How much blood will be shed in this battle? I'm tired of fighting but I can never tire of healing… of saving others… why must we fight?" Hidan smirked and laughed.

"Without fighting and assholes like us, you would be outta a job girlie. And peaceful shit that you're used to I can't deal with. Plain and simple and Jashin-sama won't get by on peace. I must do my duty!" He snorted in laughter and patted Sakura's shoulder. "I can't say I'd take it easy if we fought against each other… I have no doubts we will have conflict. Just stay outta my way and I won't go outta my way to find ya."

Sakura giggled and nodded her head as she turned to tend to the injuries of the various ninja around her. Emiko frowned as she surveyed where she dealt the killing blow to Atsushi moments earlier. "Hidan-koi… where did he go? My blood should have overloaded and exploded his heart in addition to breaking his neck…" She shivered as a chill wind passed over her only to feel the Jashinists arms tighten around her protectively.

"It doesn't fucking matter. We'll track him down and make that bastard pay for what he's done and for hunting my wife…" Hidan's eyes darkened into a crimson shade similar to that of blood. "He's going to hell in the harshest way possible."

"Hell to a Jashinist… that's gotta be something." Kakuzu sniggered as he strode past; trying to loot the poor ninja they had defended against. "Odd thing though… these shinobi didn't carry much money on them but had an odd amount of enchanted chakra weaponry and armor… with similar properties that Emiko's kekkei genkai has."

Emiko frowned and looked at the two Akatsuki members near her. "Are my attacks going to be used against me?" Without warning, her world hazed out and went to black.

* * *

Six Months Later

Hidan entered the cold room and sighed. To his disgust, the room's air was stagnant. _That bastard Kakuzu better turn up the heat in this hellhole._ Biting his lip, Hidan continued until he was in the center of the room next to a flytrap. Hidan put his palm on it and it opened to expose Emiko but things were not the same. They never could be the same. He touched her cold cheeks and while she leaned into his touch, she did not open her eyes or even breathe. "My poor Emiko-koi…" At his voice, she raised her head towards his head and slumped into his grasp.

The door open again and Kakuzu walked in, shaking his head. "I wish this treatment could help her faster. Does Zetsu know what he's doing?"

"Better than the rest of us fuckers." Hidan placed Emiko back into the flytrap where it closed over here. Once she was out of sight, Hidan softly cried. "I hope she wakes up again. And soon… things are changing too rapidly for Jashin's liking."


End file.
